


Better Than Revenge

by KisaraMoriarty777



Series: A Stab at Love (Alastor X Reader Series) [2]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Character Death, Drinking, F/F, F/M, Feelings Realization, Heartache, Heartbreak, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Part 2 of "The Dismemberment Song", Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Suggestive Themes, Torture, Unrequited Love, admitting feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:54:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 40,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24080896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisaraMoriarty777/pseuds/KisaraMoriarty777
Summary: (This is part 2 of "The Dismemberment Song." If you have not read that one, please read it before reading this one!)After what was supposed to be the end of your existence, you awaken to find yourself in what seems to be a hospital room. You are greeted by familiar faces, and also the sight of the Devil himself. You are offered a third chance at life. A deal, of sorts.Help take down Alastor once and for all, and you will be able to live free of the fear of him ever hurting you.Seems simple enough when you have the Devil and many others on your side, right?But what happens when your own pesky feelings get in the way of things? Will you be able to keep your side of the deal, or will love turn out to be better than revenge?
Relationships: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Valentino (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Valentino/Vox (Hazbin Hotel), Velvet/Vox (Hazbin Hotel), Vox (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader
Series: A Stab at Love (Alastor X Reader Series) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737319
Comments: 23
Kudos: 55





	1. The Story of Us

“Did it work?”

“I believe it did. I did everything that the spell told me to.”

“If you ruined this, I will allow my wife to have her way with you, and you will wish that I had let an exterminator, or your boss, kill you!”

You awoke with a start. You looked around the room you were in with panic in your eyes. You were strapped to some sort of hospital bed. You were wearing a hospital gown. The walls of the room were a royal purple and the floor was crimson. The first person that caught your eyes was a young rabbit demon. He had large brown ears and his eyes were wide and bright blue. He was wearing a lab coat that was covered with blood. The other figure had purple eyes and a large white top hat with an apple on it. He was dressed in all white, but he was not a doctor. That much was very clear to you. He was holding a cane with an apple on it. You knew right away who he was. The rabbit doctor undid your bonds when he saw that you were awake, bowed, and ran out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him. This only proved your theory as to who that man was.

“L… Lucifer,” you whispered.

“That is Lord Lucifer to you. However, I shall allow you mercy for your mistake. But do not mistake that for weakness. I am only showing you mercy because you were just resurrected,” Lucifer told you, correcting your mistake. A rather understandable mistake though, considering everything.

“I was… what?” you asked him. You were extremely confused. The last thing that you had remembered was that Alastor had killed you after he had confessed his feelings to you. You were supposed to no longer exist, so far as you were aware. He had killed you using an angelic weapon while you were in Hell. You did not understand how this was possible. How it was possible for you to still exist.

“Vox helped to get you back. He caught your soul before it could leave Hell. It was difficult to do, mind you. It was already very broken and we were not positive that you would be able to make it. Then Valentino sent us his best doctor. Trained in angelic and demonic magics. Something very rare among demons. He was able to provide us with a spell that would bring the pieces of your soul together. However, it was a very complex spell and I must admit that I am rather shocked that it actually worked,” Lucifer told you honestly. Your eyes widened and you sat up with a jolt.

“Oh my goodness! Vox! Valentino!” you exclaimed. “Are they alright?!” you shouted at him. Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“Yes. They are fine. Vox was a little bit shaken up and Valentino was as well, however that is understandable considering what both went through. They are fine now though,” he informed you. You let out a sigh of relief. You were glad to hear that they were both alright.

“Why did you help bring me back here? Is… is there something that you wanted me to do for you?” you asked him. Lucifer nodded at your question.

“Yes. There is. See, Vox had to take a tiny little peek into that mind of yours. He had to do this in order to save you. Locked inside a fragment of your mind was your cause of death. In order for us to patch up this flesh-suit of yours, we have to know that critical piece of information. It would have been significantly harder for us to fix you if he had not done so. Anyhow, he saw that cause of your death… or rather near death, but he also saw the reason for your near death. He saw Alastor’s little confession while he was in your mind,” Lucifer told you. You could feel your face heating up and you cursed yourself for this.

The man had killed you! Not only once, but rather twice! He had tortured you and he had terrified you! Yet… yet you found that you were unable to stop yourself from blushing like mad whenever someone brought up his feelings towards you. You could not deny that. As much of a monster as Alastor very clearly was… he was still so handsome! He was so annoyingly handsome! It was hardly fair for someone so cruel to be so damn handsome! He was charming and suave too. His voice was so easy on the ears that it was not hard to see why he was a radio show host. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing though, and even though you were all too well aware of his bad intentions… you could not help but have your heart beat faster at the idea of those dark red eyes looking at you with passion instead of hunger.

You were snapped out of your little daydream by a low chuckle. You looked over and saw Valentino standing there with a smirk on his face.

“Does someone have a little crush on their killer?” he teased. You pouted and turned away from him for a moment.

“No! Of course not! That is plain madness!” you shouted to him.

“Good. The last thing we need is for you to get emotionally attached to him. It will only make all of this so much harder than it already will be for you,” Lucifer growled.

“All of what?” you asked him.

“Alastor had done something at that moment that he has not done in a very long time. He showed a weak point,” began Lucifer.

“We are not going to let that weak spot go to waste. See… none of us here care much for Alastor. He is my main rival,” cut in Vox, who had let himself into the hospital room. He did look much better than when you had last seen him. He still had a little limp, but other than that, he was fine. You wondered why this was, considering that you were sure they could have healed him if they wanted to, however you imagined it was because he was too stubborn to accept any spell that would speed up his healing process.

“He hates my business and since your… since he thought he had killed you, he has staged multiple attacks against my studio,” Valentino told you.

“He is too close with my daughter,” snapped Lucifer. This caused you to give him a confused look.

“Wait, what? Your daughter? Isn’t your daughter… like… a baby?” you questioned. Last you had heard on the matter, his daughter had just been born. Everyone looked at you with confusion in their eyes.

“A baby… oh… you poor thing… see… the procedure to bring you back… it was very complicated. Even for higher demons like us. It… his child is now 21. In human years, anyhow,” Valentino told you.

“Wait! So, I’ve been gone for 21 years in human time?” you yelled.

“Yes. You have. In hell, it has been considerably longer,” Lucifer confirmed.

“And Alastor is close now with your child?” you questioned. Lucifer let out a small sigh.

“Yes. Charlie has got it into her head that she can redeem sinners. She started a hotel that aims to host demons who are looking to leave here and go to Heaven. She has little support here, and so she went on the news in an attempt to promote the hotel. That failed horribly. She became the laughingstock of Hell for a while there. Alastor, who was bored and looking for a source of entertainment, went to offer his help to Charlie. I suspect that he is not just going to sit and watch though. I believe that he might try to harm and kill Charlie. I need him dead before that happens,” Lucifer explained to you. You sighed at this. You had missed so much… and yet it hardly felt as though any time had passed at all.

“Are you willing to assist His Highness and I?” Valentino asked. “I am aware that things did not go to plan before. But now… now Alastor will be outmatched. Vox has become even more powerful. We gained a new ally named Velvet. She is quite strong as well. And we have the king of Hell here on our side!” Valentino added.

“I am going to assume that Charlie does not know anything about this plan?” you said to Lucifer. There was a moment of silence and then Lucifer finally nodded.

“Yes. That is correct. My daughter is not and shall not be aware of this plan. She would never understand why this must be done. She is far too naïve,” replied Lucifer.

“What if she finds out about the truth?” you asked.

“I will have to cross that bridge when I get there. She just… Charlie is very different,” he said. But you could see the look on his face.

He cared about her. This was not some fake nonsense. He really did care, and he was doing all he knew how to so that he could protect her. You had seen that same look before. It was the look that Valentino had had on his face. When he was trying so hard to save Vox from Alastor. You smiled a little bit.

“I can tell that you care about your daughter. So, because of that, I am going to help you to trap Alastor. But I want assurance that he will not get the higher ground in any way. I lost my life to that madman twice. I will not let that happen a third time. I… I cannot go through that again,” you told Lucifer. You could almost still feel the pain of the last time he had taken your life.

“That reminds me of this audio that I heard,” Vox said randomly. He had been so silent that you had almost forgotten that he was there.

“What?” you asked.

“If I had a dime for every time blank happened, I’d have… two dimes. Which is not a lot, but the fact that it happened more than once. That is kind of how it goes. Anyway, it is like with you. You would have two dimes,” Vox explained.

“Are you comparing the fact that Alastor had brutally killed her twice… to… to… audio that you heard on Tik Tok?” Valentino hissed.

“What is a Tik Tok? What does that mean?” you questioned. Valentino sighed.

“It does not matter. Vox is just being a complete and utter fool,” Valentino whispered to you.

“What is he saying to you?” Vox asked. His face was serious and he looked as though he was straining to hear what Valentino was telling you. You looked at Valentino’s face and saw a goofy little smirk on his face. You could not help but giggle a little bit.

“Nothing much,” you lied with a smirk on your face. Valentino chuckled a little bit as well at this and shook his head.

“Can we get back to the original matter please?” snapped Lucifer. You looked to Vox and Valentino, who were both very serious once again.

“Of course,” Valentino said in a low voice.

“I will do it as long as I have back up,” you repeated.

“And back up you shall have. Now… I do not need to explain what shall happen to you if you happen to betray me, do I?” Lucifer growled. You swallowed hard at this. Your mouth felt dry and your heart was racing. You shook your head frantically.

“No. I think I can imagine,” you told him. He nodded at this.

“I shall be taking my leave now. I have things to do. You had better leave before my wife returns home. She will not like a mess when she returns, and the staff need time to clean,” he told you all. He then left the room and shut the door behind him. Valentino and Vox bowed and began to leave the palace via a side door. You quickly followed them, as you had no idea how to get out on your own.

“Where am I going to stay?” you asked. You were worried about this. You had no home of your own last time that you were in Hell, and you were not exactly in the mood to go searching for housing. Plus, you knew that living on the street was far too dangerous. It was dangerous in normal circumstances, but you had been gone for 21 human years, and you suspected that a lot had changed around Hell.

“You are going to be coming to live at the studio with me. I already have a room prepared for you. You will have security around your room at all times. You will not leave the studio unless you have to, or unless it is for the plan. Even then, you will have people watching your movement at all moments of the day. I will have my darling pet Angel Dust give you a tour of the place. We have made quite a few changes since you were last there, and you will want to know your way around,” he told you. You thanked him and walked to the studio with Vox and Valentino.

“Look out Alastor. I am not quite done with you yet. The story of us has a new chapter now, and I am going to be the one that writes the ending this time,” you thought to yourself with a smirk.


	2. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying to adjust to your new life in Hell, you make some unexpected friends and share some emotional moments with a certain someone. Secrets are shared, plans are made, and you begin to set in motion your plan for defeating Alastor. 
> 
> But is that what you really want? You cannot seem to decide.

Valentino had not only given you a room at the studio. He had given you a suite to yourself. A suite and three private maids. Oh, and your own car. You had told him that you did not need all of that, however, there was no changing his mind.

“He blames himself for what happened to you. I would imagine that he fears that you hate him and blame him as well,” Vox had told you one day.

“What?! That is awful!” you had replied to him.

“Well… do you? Hate him, I mean,” Vox had asked you.

“No! Of course not! I could never hate Valentino! He did the best that he could, and he even helped to bring me back. Why in… well… Hell would I ever hate him?” you frantically asked Vox.

“Do you… do you hate me then?” Vox then asked you. He was looking away from you and you raised your eyebrow at this.

“Hate you? Vox, why would you think that I hate you?” you gasped.

“It was my fault that you died. If I had not told Alastor about that blade and about what I knew Val would be planning, you and Val would have had the upper hand in that fight. But I… I broke. Alastor broke me. He hurt me so much. I could… I could not take it anymore. So… I talked to try and get him to stop hurting me. And because of that… you were at a disadvantage. He was able to turn the tables. All of that… it was my fault. Your second death. If you had died… it would have been my fault. Your torture though… all of the pain and humiliation you had to suffer at his hands. All of that is on me. I am just as guilty as Alastor,” he softly spoke. You shook your head at this.

“Vox. Listen to me right now. None of that was your fault. It can never be your fault. You did what you had to do in order to get out of a really awful situation. Vox, you were forced to pick between impossible options, and you chose the best one that you could. You are not guilty in any way. Alastor was the one that forced you to pick. He was the one that hurt me. He is the only one that is guilty here,” you insisted.

“Survivor’s guilt. That is what my friend, Velvet, says that Valentino and I have. It is when you go through something really bad and you survive, but someone else does not make it and you feel guilty because you got out of that situation but they did not. I don’t know if that is what I have. I’m no doctor and I’ve never gone to see one to tell if that is what I have. I don’t know if that is what is happening in my mind… but I know that it sure sounds right. Because I do feel guilty for being the one that survived,” Vox ranted to you.

“Hey. I survived too. I am right here. Right here with you. We are both here. We are both survivors. What we went through was horrible and no one should have to endure that, but we are both here. We can both heal together. So you don’t have to feel any sort of guilt because I am right here,” you told him. He shook his head.

“I know, but you were still gone. You were gone for such a long time. I… we heard the broadcast too. The one that Radio Freak did. Valentino and I were being driven home when it came on the radio in the limo. We could not change the station. I can normally just project music and I could have blocked out the broadcast. But I was really hurt and my speaker system was broken… so there was nothing that I could do. Nothing Valentino could do either. We had to just sit there and listen to the broadcast. Praying to anything we could that it would just end,” Vox told you.

“Could you not just turn the volume all the way down? Or turn the radio off?” you questioned. Vox shook his head.

“Believe me when I tell you that I would have given nearly anything to make that awful broadcast stop. But the driver… he was a lower demon. He told us that he did not want to risk Alastor finding out that he had turned down the broadcast. We tried to get him to turn the radio off. We did… but he refused over and over. He was so terrified that Alastor would be able to tell if he turned down the radio and he was convinced that he would be the next victim of the Radio Demon if he did turn it down. I can’t even blame the guy for being so worried about that. I mean… after what Alastor did to me… how could I? How could I judge that man for being scared of the person that terrifies me? That I have nightmares and panic attacks about all of the time. I cannot judge him. It would not be fair. But still… having to hear that show… it was awful. It destroyed me. I know it destroyed Val too, though he never talks about it,” Vox told you.

“Vox…” you began, but Vox turned away and he shook his head.

“Look at me. Rambling on when you just got back to us. Must be the lack of sleep. You should go ahead and get dressed. Our new friend, Velvet, wants to meet you. She and Valentino’s secretary are going shopping. Vel invited you to join. She was very insistent on that matter. When she is insistent on something… you roll with it. You have just got to roll with it. Remember that when you are out with her, because otherwise… it could get pretty messy,” he said. You swallowed hard and began shaking.

“M… messy?” you whispered out. Your mind went back to all of the pain Alastor had put you through. All of the things he had done to you. The messes he had made. Vox looked over at you and realized where your fears were coming from. His eyes went wide and he shook his head.

“Wait! Hold on! She won’t hurt you or anything like that! She will likely just start crying or something! Maybe she will make some sort of scene. She will not hurt you! Trust me! Velvet can be a little much at times and she is sugar high all the time, but unless you are an enemy, she will not hurt you at all!” Vox assured you. You nodded at this and drew in a breath.

“What are we going shopping for?” you questioned. You were trying your best to change the topic to something normal. Vox shrugged his shoulders.

“I am not too sure, to be fully honest with you. Clothing probably. Shoes. Toys. Cakes. Anything that is cute or catches her eye,” he told you.

“You mentioned something about another person joining us. Valentino’s secretary, I believe,” you commented. Vox nodded at this.

“That is right. Her name is Shadow. Velvet wanted to get some new clothing for her. Lucifer knows that woman buys nothing for herself,” Vox replied, muttering the last part.

“This secretary… is she… what is she like? As a person…er…um… demon, I mean,” you questioned.

“She is a peach. No one actually knows why she is in Hell, because as far as we can tell, she is the most innocent demon here. She is pretty shy and often keeps to herself. She keeps the records at the studio and she is very good at her job. I think she had some experience with the job when she was human, but I am not sure. You’d have to ask Valentino about that. He is one of the only people she actually talks to,” Vox informed you.

“So… she is close with Valentino then?” you asked. You knew Valentino was kinder than most demons thought, however when you had seen him before everything went down with Alastor, he always had a few girls on him at all times around the studio. Hardly ever the same ones though, and when he did have the same ones, it was because they were his biggest stars. Never for any emotion-based reason. Vox sighed and rolled his eyes a little.

“Oh yeah. They are close alright. Valentino is so overprotective of her. He… he pretty much saved her life when she arrived in Hell. She came to work for him as his secretary shortly after that. She is not just his secretary either. She is his submissive. His personal submissive. He shows no one else the attention he shows her. She is his darling. His little kitten. No one comes near the woman unless Valentino strictly says so,” Vox explained.

“That… that actually sounds kind of sweet,” you whispered. Vox shook his head.

“I guess that is one way to look at it. I think it is gross. He is getting too attached to her,” he muttered.

“Well, she sounds like a nice enough person,” you commented. Vox bit his lip.

“Yeah…” he began.

“What? What is it?” you demanded.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this. Shadow… she is a really good demoness. I don’t want to change your image of her,” he said.

“Tell me,” you insisted. He took in a breath.

“There is something I should probably tell you about her. Shadow… she went through a lot of messed up stuff when she was human. It took its toll on her, and because of that, she came up with a way to defend herself. Or… her mind came up with a defensive measure at least. Shadow created a… separate personality. When she is Shadow, she is the sweetest demon you will ever meet. Cute. Shy. People pleaser sort. When she is her split personality, Dark, though… she is pure madness. Dark is the polar opposite of Shadow. She is cruel, sadistic, murderous, and she is not exactly known for being merciful in any way,” Vox told you.

“Well. That is just swell, isn’t it?” you muttered. You could not exactly blame Shadow for having a split personality. It was how she had defended herself against whatever had happened to her when she was human. She had no control over it. But that did not make you any less happy about this Dark character.

“Shadow only turns into Dark when she is pissed off. Or if something triggers her so badly that she will turn. Even then… Dark only goes after those who hurt Shadow,” he told you.

“So as long as I don’t do anything to harm Shadow, Dark will not harm me?” you repeated.

“Yep,” Vox confirmed.

“When she is Dark, is there any way to get her back to being Shadow?” you asked him. Vox took a moment to think about this.

“Only one person here has been able to. Shadow turned once at the studio. Some jerk was trying to get a little handsy with her, and she flipped. Valentino rushed out and seemed to be able to calm her down right there. I was shocked that he was able to, but I guess she must have told him about Dark. So yeah. There is some way, but only Val knows how to,” Vox replied to you.

“Good to know,” you said. “Hey… how powerful is this Dark?” you said to Vox.

“You are thinking of using her against the Radio Demon?” Vox said. Your face went red.

“Seems like it would be a strategic move,” you told him in a flat tone. Though you were not proud of the idea, you saw no point in lying about it.

“I wish that was an option. Dark is indeed very powerful. Shadow is too though. Shadow has had some strong teachers when it comes to her demonic powers. Only the best for Val’s darling kitten. But there is one big issue. See… Dark does not have any fears, but Shadow has many. Dark can take over when a fear triggers Shadow in terms of whatever trauma she went through. But the issue arises when Shadow is beyond terrified. She is not able to switch between Shadow and Dark at will. If she is too scared, Dark is unable to take over,” Vox began to explain.

“And she is terrified of Alastor?” you said. He nodded.

“That is correct. Shadow had to run a business meeting for Val once. He was busy with another deal that had come up last minute, and Shadow agreed to run the meeting at the studio for him. Valentino was unaware that the meeting was going to be between him and Alastor, because Alastor’s friend, Mimzy, had set up the meeting. Alastor came to the studio after Valentino had left. He had planned it all out. He heard Valentino had gotten a new worker and wanted to see the woman for himself. Wanted to know if she was like the other performers or if she was different, I guess. Shadow nearly passed out on the spot when she realized that the meeting was with the Radio Demon. She knew who he was, naturally. She might not work with the performers directly, but she heard their talk. Tales about the Radio Demon and what he could do. She was terrified, but she did not want to disappoint Valentino. So she went ahead with the meeting. She was shaking so hard the whole time though, and some of the girls heard her whimpering. Alastor took glee in her fear and he tormented her the whole time they were meeting. If she is that scared… she cannot change. It is simply impossible,” Vox answered.

“That makes sense. It would have been nice to have someone else on our side for the fight, but if she cannot do it, there is no sense forcing her to,” you said. You felt bad for Shadow. You knew that fear all too well. Knew what he was capable of. You prayed that he did not harm her during the meeting, but supposed that it was not a stretch to assume he did.

“I get that… but hey! You have me, Velvet, Valentino, and Lucifer. I would say that is a pretty good crew to have backing you up!” he reassured you. You smiled softly at this.

“That is very true,” you replied with a grin on your face.

“Val left you some clothing in your room. You can use any of the outfits in the closet. Meet me outside when you are finished changing,” Vox said to you. He smiled and left your room.

You rummaged through the closet. Valentino had given you at least forty different outfits to pick from. All of them were stunning and you had no doubt that they were all very expensive.

“I should probably just go for something comfortable. I do not want to be sluggish the whole time I am out with them,” you thought to yourself. You put on the first outfit you could see that was not leather, silk, or tight. You headed out to the car. Vox was waiting for you outside of the studio. He blinked a few times when he saw you.

“Something wrong? Is there something on my face? Do I have something in my teeth?” you frantically began to ask him. You did not want to make a bad first impression with his friends. Vox shook his head at your questions.

“No. Not at all,” he said.

“Then what is it?!” you snapped at him. You were feeling a little strange about the way he was staring at you. You were worried that he was lying and that you looked odd or something.

“You are the most stunning demon I have ever seen in my whole time in Hell,” he told you. His face then turned bright red and you feared that his screen might just overheat. “I… I am sorry. I did not mean to speak so openly. My system is not the best sometimes. It doesn’t filter my thoughts at times. If I am nervous or something, that will happen. Not that I am nervous! Not that it happens a lot though!” Vox exclaimed. You could not help but laugh at this.

“Sure. Not nervous at all,” you joked. He pouted at this and rolled his eyes.

“Are you ready to leave, Mr. Vox?” the driver asked from the limousine. Vox nodded and held the door for you.

“Will you be joining us today then?” you asked him. He shook his head with a somewhat sad expression.

“No. Sorry. I’ve got some business close by though, so I will be riding with you. If that is ok with you, of course,” he replied.

“I’d love for you to join me. I think it would make the trip much less lonely,” you told him. He smiled and got into the limousine after you.

“Hey… about what I said before we got in the limo… please do not take any offense to that, or think less of me for it,” he requested in a hushed voice.

“Why would I? You gave me a very kind compliment,” you told him. You gave him a confused look at this. He merely nodded though and looked away.

“Yeah. You are right,” was all he said in a quiet voice.

The rest of the limousine ride was silent, with the exception of the music coming from the speaker system. You kept looking over at Vox, however, his eyes never met yours. He kept his gave on the city outside the window. He had a conflicted look on his face. As though he were having some sort of internal debate with himself. He was lost within his own thoughts. That much was very clear. Yet, you could not tell why this was. Try as you might, you could not crack that look that covered his face. He looked both happy and sad at the same time. Restless, yet in a state of bliss as well. You smiled to yourself as you shut your eyes. You had not realized how tired you were until just now. You yawned a little bit and let sleep carry you away.

_“Rise and shine, darling,” a voice called. You opened your eyes and expected to see Vox. Instead, you came face to face with Alastor. You looked around you frantically. You were tied to an old and rusty operating table. Alastor was standing over you. He brushed some of the hair away from your face and you screamed at him._

_“No! Get away from me! Back off!” you shouted at him. “Someone help me! Get me out of here!” you yelled._

_“I suggest that you save your breath, my dear. No one is going to save you. No one at all knows that we are here. See, a friend of mine told me that you had returned to Hell. I simply had to make sure that they were right. So, I hijacked your limousine and captured you,” gloated Alastor with a smirk. A thought came to you._

_“Where is Vox?” you snapped._

_“He is with us here,” replied Alastor with that sick grin that made you shiver._

_“What did you do to him? What did you do to Vox?!” you demanded. Alastor sighed and he stabbed a needle into your shoulder. You screamed out in pain and felt your body going numb. Alastor undid your bonds and he held onto you as he helped you to a chair. He walked over to a curtain across from you and opened it. You screamed in horror at the sight._

_Strung up to a wooden cross was Vox. He was missing all of his vital organs and his stomach and chest were held open by metal wires. His screen was smashed and the glass from it was sticking out of his hands and legs in a pattern._

_“Radio killed the video star,” was what the glass spelled out. His hat was torn into shreds, but it was still on his head._

_“No signal, I suppose,” joked Alastor._

_“How could you?!” you shouted at him. Your head was starting to feel light, but your anger was more pressing to you._

_“Very easily, my dear. Vox offered his life for yours. Begged me to spare you and offered himself up instead. I had a lovely little show with him. Strung him up and forced him to broadcast the whole thing himself. His pleads were quite wonderful. Music to my ears” began Alastor._

_“This cannot be happening,” you cried. Alastor’s cruel laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls._

_“Oh, but it can be. And it is. This is all your fault. I do hope that you know that because that is the truth of the matter,” he taunted._

_“No. It is not! It is not my fault! It is not!” you frantically shouted and yelled at him. His laughter seemed to be ever-increasing. It was nearly deafening. Your head felt as though it was being torn in half by the sound._

_“You really believe that? Darling, you need to wake up!” he exclaimed to you._

_“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” echoed his voice._

_“Wake up!” a voice yelled. But it was not Alastor or his echo. It was familiar. It sounded like… Vox?_

Your eyes shot open and you sat up with lightning speed. You looked around your surroundings and found that you were still in the limousine. Vox’s hands were on your shoulders. He was not hurt at all. He was perfectly safe. The only thing off about him was the worried expression on his face. You gave him a tight hug.

“Are you ok? You were screaming and crying in your sleep. I couldn’t get you to wake up,” he said.

“I am ok now,” you replied to him. You let go of him. “Are we there?” you asked. Vox nodded.

“Yes. We got here a little while ago. Only a few minutes though. Are you sure that you are up to going though? You seemed distraught. We can tell them that you will join them another time if you want,” Vox told you in a worried tone. You shook your head.

“No. I want to meet them. I think it will be good to have a day out,” you replied to him.

 _“Good way to take my mind off of things. I need a distraction. Something fun and casual,”_ you thought to yourself.

“Are you sure that you are well enough to go?” Vox asked you.

“Yes. I am fine,” you insisted.

“You were yelling that is was not your fault. What were you dreaming about?” Vox asked. Your mind went back to the horrible images from your nightmare and you shivered. It had felt so real. The images had all been so vivid.

“It was nothing. To be honest, I do not remember much from the nightmare,” you lied. Vox either bought the lie or he did not want to make you uncomfortable, because he did not press the matter any longer. The driver opened the door of the limousine and you got out. You waved to Vox and turned to see two figures standing there.

One of the figures had a white, blue, and black dress. The top half was white, the band around the waist area was blue, and the bottom half was black. Her long blonde hair was flowing down like a waterfall. Her skin was a ghostly pale and her pink eyes stood out like searchlights. She had long lashes that were covered with a violet mascara. Her lips were covered in a crimson lipstick that looked like blood a little. She gave you a soft and shy smile but looked down quickly. The woman beside her had wild pink and black hair that was tied in two large pigtails. She had a fluffy black dress that was considerably shorter than the other woman’s dress. She had bright red eyes that had a dangerous and crazed look in them. A wide smile stretched across lips that were covered in dark black lipstick. She let out a squeal as she rushed up and hugged you. She then stepped back to where the other woman was.

“Hi! Oh my gosh! It is so nice to meet you! I’m Velvet! I bet you have heard a lot about me from Vox and Val! This shy little cupcake is Shadow! She works for Val!” exclaimed the demoness with the pigtails. Shadow bowed politely to you.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I do hope you have heard good things about Lady Velvet and me,” greeted Shadow.

“I have. Vox spoke very highly of both of you,” you replied. She smiled in relief.

“Aww! Ain’t Voxy just a sweetheart? Always saying nice things about Val, Shadow, and I. He is a real peach. Bestest buddy a gal could ask for,” Velvet said. You smiled at this.

“Vox has been extremely kind to me. So has Valentino,” you told her.

“I am super happy to hear that!” said Velvet with a smile. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it. “Oh! The tailor is open! Come on! We should get there quick! I hate lines like you would not believe!” she informed you. Grabbing Shadow by the hand, she began to make her way to wherever the tailor must have been. You quickly followed the two of them. She led you to a huge and very brightly lit shop. Demons were already in the line outside, but they moved to let you, Shadow, and Velvet inside.

 _“Perks of being friends with an overlord,”_ you thought to yourself.

“Hello Lady Velvet. Miss Shadow,” the tailor greeted. She was a young tiger demon with bright blue eyes. She smiled over at you. “Hello there. Is this your first time here?” she asked you. You nodded.

“Yes. I…” you began, however, you were cut off by Velvet.

“New to Hell. Just got here today,” Velvet told the tailor. The tailor gave you a smile that was filled with sadness.

“You poor thing. I am so sorry to hear that. Buy any design that your heart desires. I will make it for you today. Free of charge,” she offered.

“No! It is fine! I could not possibly accept that!” you replied.

“Please. It is on the house,” she insisted. You sighed in defeat. You did not want to accidentally insult the woman by not taking her up on the offer.

“Thank you,” you said.

“We need two other outfits too please. One for me, and one for Shadow. Cute ones! Like princesses!” Velvet chimed. The tailor bowed.

“Of course. They shall be designed and ready in ten minutes,” she told Velvet.

“Ten minutes?” you whispered to Velvet. She nodded.

“Yeah. Even though this is Hell, complicated patterns still take such a long time. You would think that, with magic and everything, it would go faster,” she said with a pout. She had mistaken your confusion on the matter with displeasure. Truth was, you were shocked it only took ten minutes. Though you supposed that they probably used magic to speed things up.

“Should we make our other stops while we wait?” you heard Shadow ask. Her voice was soft and you nearly did not hear her.

“I am going to wait here. I have business with the clerk. How about you two go shop together?! No point in all three of us waiting around here. Besides, I have… private business with the clerk,” Velvet told you. You were confused by what she meant, however, the blush on Shadow’s face cleared up your confusion on Velvet’s private business.

“Oh…” you whispered.

“Where would you like for us to go?” Shadow asked you. There was a moment of silence. You were waiting for Velvet to reply when you saw that Shadow was addressing you and not Velvet.

“Oh! You meant me!” you said.

“Yes. Did you have any places in mind? There are a variety of shops that are provided in this mall,” she told you.

“I’ve never been here before. Um… what places do you like to go to?” you asked. Shadow seemed to be quite shocked by this.

“It is really up to you. I do not have a preference or say in the matter either way,” she replied. You gave a chuckle at this.

“People don’t ask for your opinion much, do they?” you questioned. Shadow blushed at this.

“Aside from Lady Velvet, Lord Vox, and Mr. Valentino… not really. It is really fine though. I tend to go with the flow. I prefer it that way,” she admitted. “Easier to avoid making mistakes…” she added in a whispered voice. You smiled at her.

“Well, that is going to change today! Since I have never been to this mall before, I have no reference points to work with. That makes that you will have to lead the way and show me around the mall!” you replied enthusiastically to her. Shadow looked around nervously. She was no doubt trying to locate Velvet in order to ask her for instructions or assistance. However, she was having no luck, as Velvet had left to tend to her “private business” with the clerk.

“Are you certain? I might not be good at that. I do not come shopping that often. I really do not know much about which stores are best or which places offer better deals,” she nervously whispered.

“I am sure you will be just fine! Just go to the shops that you like going to!” you encouraged.

“Well… there are some very nice accessories shops. I believe they should be open. Does that sound alright to you?” Shadow suggested.

“Um… I feel like this might be a silly question, but what accessories do they sell there?” you questioned.

“Oh! Um… let’s see… jewelry mostly. Some belts. Some hats as well. Scarves, buttons, and some made-to-order tailcoats. Why?” Shadow answered.

“I thought you were talking about weapons or that sort of thing,” you replied.

“No. I am sorry. This mall does not have the best weapon shops in Hell. I am sure that Lady Velvet would allow us to go to the weapon shop that she stops at another time though,” Shadow told you.

“It is fine. I was just a little confused is all,” you told her.

“In that case, shall we head to the shop now?” Shadow quietly asked. You nodded.

“Sounds good,” you replied.

You and Shadow spent a little over 10 minutes at the shop. You had bought a cute sunhat and a dark pair of glasses. Shadow bought a few bows and some canes. Judging by the designs on the very expensive golden canes, you had a feeling that they were gifts for someone else. While you and Shadow were walking, Shadow turned to you.

“Do you think that these canes are pretty?” she asked you. You smiled.

“I think that they are really nice. They just… I don’t know… don’t take this the wrong way please… but they seem like an odd choice for you,” you answered.

“How so?” she asked.

“They don’t really suit you. I mean no offense, of course,” you admitted to her. She blushed.

“They are not actually for me. They are a Death Day gift for someone. They have to be perfect though,” she whispered. You thought back to what Vox had told you about Shadow. How she not only worked at the studio but how she was close with Valentino. You decided to try and confirm this information for yourself.

“Are those, by any chance, for Valentino?” you asked. Shadow gave a small laugh at this.

“is it that obvious then?” she laughed. You smiled and shook your head.

“It is not that. Vox had told me before that you and Valentino were close. I just wondered if you were getting those for him,” you told her.

“I wanted to get him something special for his Death Day. He likes canes a lot. They are his favorite. He has a big collection, but these are new. They just got released this year. I thought it would be nice to get them for him so he could have the newest ones,” she responded.

“That was very thoughtful of you,’ you told her. Shadow sighed and shook her head.

“It is honestly nothing. He has done so much for me. He saved me when I first got here. He gave me shelter and safety. I would be dead if it was not for him. But it is more than that. He has shown me more love and kindness than anyone on Earth or in Hell ever has. He has helped me so much. Most people… they do not believe that Valentino has good within him. They do not believe he could ever be a good person. But deep down… I know he is. For he has shown me that good and kindness,” she told you. She then blushed and looked away. “I am sorry. I spoke too much. I… I seem to ramble on when it comes to things about him,” she whispered.

“No! Not at all! The way you spoke about him… you really seem to care about him, don’t you?  
you replied.

“Yes. I do,” she said. Her voice had a dreamy tone to it. Her eyes were full of light and her whole body language had changed when she thought of him. You sighed a little bit. You wanted to have that. Someone special like that. Someone who made you happy like that. Someone who cared about you as Shadow cared about Valentino. You wanted someone to light up like that when they spoke about you.

No. Not someone one. Not just anyone.

You wanted Alastor to be that person. You wanted his brown eyes to sparkle when he thought of you. Wanted his honey-sweet voice to speak about you that way. You longed for those perfect lips to utter your name. For his thoughts to be filled with loving thoughts of you whenever some special event came up. You were lovesick and there was no magical cure that could fix you.

You were snapped back to reality by Shadow tapping you gently on the shoulder. She was giving you the same worried expression that Vox had given you, and you cursed yourself for spacing out.

“We are here,” she told you as she pointed to the place where Velvet was. You nodded and walked into the tailor shop after Shadow. Velvet gave you both a smile as you approached her. She was holding a bag filled with clothing.

“We are going to get some food and then you can both get changed into these outfits. Wait! No! Change of plans! Change into these first, then we get food!” Velvet squealed as she hugged you and Shadow.

“What are we going to get for food?” you asked.

“What do you want to have? We can get most things here. This mall has a killer food court,” Velvet told you. Shadow nodded at this.

“Do they have pancakes here? I know it is the afternoon, but I have a strange craving for pancakes right now,” you suggested.

“They actually have a really amazing pancake place here. Val and I go all the time,” Velvet replied. She took your hand in one hand and rushed off. Shadow rushed after the two of you. You and Shadow headed to the back of the tailor shop to change, and then came out when you were done. You all made your way to the food court and Velvet pointed to the pancake place. The waiter bowed to you all as the three of you rushed to the shop. He took your order and escorted you to a private seating area behind the pancake place. You all waited as the waiter prepared your meal. He brought you a huge tray of pancakes. You moved to pay with the money that Valentino had given you when you arrived, however, Velvet beat you to it and paid for all of you.

“You did not have to do that,” you told her. She shrugged.

“Yeah, but I did it anyway. What are you going to do about it?” she told you. Her voice had a joking edge to it though and she had a goofy smile on her face.

“I am going to pay for the next one,” you smugly replied. She laughed.

“Fair enough, I guess,” she giggled. “So… now that we are sitting and relaxing… let’s get down to business. We need a plan against Alastor and I have a few ideas,” Velvet began. You nearly choked on your pancakes when she mentioned Alastor. Shadow patted you on the back to stop you from choking.

“Right. Yeah…” you mumbled.

“Alright. What I am thinking is having you apply at that little hotel Charlie is making such a fuss about. You are going to say that the blade was a fake and that you did not die. When you are checked in, you are going to get Alastor to fall even more in love with you. He will not be able to hurt you, so you do not need to worry about that at all. Charlie will make sure he brings you no harm. You will have to live at the hotel for the plan, but no one there will harm you. Charlie’s whole thing is not committing sins. She will not let him harm you, and thanks to that, she will play right into our plan unknowingly. You will get him to fall more and more in love with you and then you will fake your own death. Well, Vox will pretend that he killed you with a blade that is actually fake. Alastor will witness your death firsthand, and he will be devastated by it. Vox will give him the real blade and Alastor will kill himself with it. Once we are sure that he is gone, you will return with Vox to the studio. Someone will replace Alastor as an overlord and we will all live happily ever after,” Velvet explained to you. She took a bite of her pancakes. “What do you think?!” she asked.

“Wow… you… uh… you really have this all planned out… don’t you?” you asked her. You were hoping she could not hear the nervousness in your voice. Or see it in your eyes.

“Yeah. I do. But you seem… I don’t know… less excited about this than I thought you would have been…” Velvet commented.

“No. I just… I just did not think we could have a plan this fast is all. I assumed that we would be spending a lot more time planning,” you lied. Velvet gave you a suspicious look but shrugged.

“Well, no need to worry then. Because your girl Velvet has this all handled,” she told you with a bright smile on her face. You gave her your best fake smile back.

“Yeah… that is great. Can’t wait,” you mumbled.

“Great, because we are going to sign you up after the mall. Vox is having your things sent over to the hotel as we speak,” Velvet informed you.

“WHAT?! ALREADY?!” you gasped. She nodded.

“Yep. While you and Shadow were shopping, I took a little break from my activities with the clerk and called Val. I told him about the plan and asked if he thought it was good. He told me it was great, said we should go with it, and said to start it as soon as possible,” she informed you.

“And Vox?” you asked. Velvet hesitated.

“When you guys were driving here… did he seem off at all to you? I mean, was he acting weird of anything. Maybe a little quiet?” Velvet asked you. You thought back to the limousine ride before you had fallen asleep.

“Actually… now that you mention it… he was actually a little bit odd. He gave me a compliment and then seemed to regret it for some reason. He asked me not to take offense to it. Then he got all quiet and he did not speak the rest of the way here. I don’t know if that sort of thing is normal for him…” you began, but Velvet cut you off.

“He gave you a compliment?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why? Does he not do that a lot?” you replied.

“A lot? More like never! He never does things like that. Valentino does, sure. I do. But Vox is not the sort of person that does that. He got quiet after he said that?” Velvet asked. You nodded at this.

“Yes. That is correct,” you confirmed. Velvet pondered this and then began to giggle. She gave Shadow a little wave. Shadow nodded and left the table.

“You know… if I did not know any better, I would say that you might just have a little war on your hands,” Velvet chuckled.

“What are you talking about?” you demanded as you gave her a confused look. She shrugged.

“Having two overlords fighting over you can get quite messy is what I mean. Especially when those two overlords are rivals and sworn to hate each other,” she replied.

“I don’t understand,” you said, but part of you knew that that was a lie. You knew exactly what she would say next. You just did not want to hear it.

“Vox and Alastor both love you. Both men are interested in you. You have captured both of their hearts,” she said, voicing the truth you already knew within your heart.

“That cannot be,” you still whispered.

“But yet it is. So… what are you going to do about it?” Velvet asked you. You let out an exhausted sigh and placed your head on the table. You wished that you could give her an easy answer. But the truth was… you had no idea what it was you wanted to do. Well, that was not quite true. You had no idea why you could not do what you wanted to do. That was the truth. What you wanted was to fall in love with Vox and abandon the bothersome and irritating feelings you held for Alastor. You wanted to go along with Velvet’s plan. To have Alastor die and then you and Vox could happily be together. Vox loved you. He cared for you. He treated you well too. You could both help each other to heal. To grow. He was safe, kind, and sweet. You wanted so badly to fall in love with him…

Yet in your heart you knew the awful truth. You were in love with Alastor. Your heart was captured by the man who had killed you twice before. Had tortured you and had put you through so much pain and suffering. Yet… despite all of that, you loved him, and once upon a time, he still loved you. You had no way to know if that remained the same, but part of you hoped that it did.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to love Alastor. I want these feelings to go away and never come back. But I do love him. Why do I love him?” you asked. Velvet sighed.

“I cannot tell you the answer to something that only you and your heart knows. I can say, however, that love is a cruel and horrible thing. It traps you and ensnares you. It is like giving a loaded gun to someone. You have only the blind hope that they will not pull the trigger. But love is also amazing. It makes you smile and giggle. It makes you feel like nothing in the world can bring you down. You feel like you can survive anything when the person is with you, even if that is a lie or even if they are the ones that put you in danger. When you are apart… it sucks like nothing else even if you should be apart from them. But when you are together with them… despite everything else… you feel like you are in your own Heaven. Even… even if they do not feel it too…’ she rambled to you. She had tears in her eyes.

“Velvet…” you began. She sighed, looked away, and took a moment. She turned back after a little while. She was giving you a smile, but you could see the pain in her smile.

“It is nothing. Seriously. I just had some memories come back to me. Let’s focus on you. It is more pressing anyhow. Your feelings for Alastor… are they going to get in the way of the plan?” she questioned.

“No. I can follow through on the plan,” you replied.

 _“Can you? Because your heart is not in it. Your heart is in his hands,”_ said the voice in the back of your head.

 _“That does not matter! He hurts people! Innocent people! I cannot let him do that! It is not just about me! He has to go! There is no other option,”_ you thought to yourself. You saw Velvet nod.

“Good. Because we need you. Without you, the plan falls apart and if Alastor hears of it… he will kill Vox, Val, and I. Or at least Val and I. We are not powerful enough to take him down,” Velvet warned.

“I will not let that happen. He is not going to hurt any of you ever again,” you promised.

 _“Unless you give into those hidden little desires you have for Alastor. If you do… kiss your friends goodbye,”_ taunted the voice in your head.

 _“That will not happen! I can protect them! They have done so much for me! I will not let them die!”_ you thought to the voice.

“Thanks. And I’m sorry you have to choose between your friends and your lover. This whole situation is a big mess and you deserve so much better,” she told you. She motioned for Shadow to come back and the demoness returned swiftly. She gave you a shy smile and you smiled back.

“What is the plan for the rest of the day?” Shadow asked. Velvet looked to you. She was leaving the choice to your discretion.

“I am going to the hotel. I am going to check in there and set our plan in motion,” you told them both. Shadow and Velvet nodded.

“Why don’t we shop a little more? Have a little more fun before you have to go?” suggested Velvet with a smile.

“I think that would be lovely,” you replied. She smiled and clapped her hands together.

“Wonderful! Then it is settled! We are going to shop the rest of the day away!” Velvet exclaimed.

And that is what you three did. You shopped until the mall closed. You were glad when Velvet hired a lower demon to deal with the bags for you all because you had bought a lot more than you were planning on getting. You all headed to the limousine when the shopping day was over. The lower demon loaded your bags into the limousine and you followed Velvet and Shadow into your ride. You admired the city as the limousine headed to the Happy Hotel. Though you were very tired, you forced yourself to stay awake. You did not want to risk having another nightmare.

“So… Lucifer’s daughter really started a place for sinners to try and get to Heaven? That is kind of ironic, don’t you think?” you said.

“Tell me about it. I think all of Hell was shocked when she went on the news to talk about it. She did this big musical number and everything too. The song was kind of catchy, not going to lie. It got stuck in your head for weeks. Still though, everyone took it as a joke. No one actually thought she was serious though. But the hotel opened anyways,” Velvet told you.

“Did people’s views change on it when they saw that she was serious?” you asked.

“Nope. Not really. They got to be crueler, but other than that, no. Everyone still thinks she is dumb for trying. Well… most people do,” she began.

“Who supports it?” you questioned.

“The princess’s girlfriend, Vaggie. But… I think Angel Dust, Valentino’s main star, believes in it as well. I think he hopes that it will work, anyhow,” she admitted.

“What about you, Valentino, and Vox? How do you all feel about it?” you asked. She sighed.

“This is between us. Only us. I don’t know about Valentino or Vox… but I want it to work. I… I had a sister once. When I was human, I mean. She was so lovely. She was very kind and she was just a peach all around. She… she got sick one year though. Momma was poor and Daddy left when I was born. Didn’t mean to get Momma pregnant, I guess. We did all we could to help my sister… but there was not much we could do. She died later that year with me and Momma by her side. Daddy didn’t even come for the funeral,” she explained.

“Velvet… I am so sorry. How… how old was she? If you do not mind me asking,” you said in a hushed voice.

“She was only 12 when she died. I looked everywhere in Hell for her. She was nowhere to be found. She was always such a good girl though. I know that she must be in Heaven. I want to get there so I can see her again. So I can tell her that I love her and that I miss her. That I am so sorry I could not help more when she was sick. I have lived so long without her. I just want to hug her again,” Velvet confided. She was crying softly now. Shadow gave her a tissue and then gave her a hug.

“I am sure that, if redemption is possible, you will be able to see her again,” you comforted. You then turned to Shadow. “And you? How do you feel about the hotel?” you asked. Shadow’s face turned very serious.

“I am not going anywhere without Velvet, Vox, and Valentino. If they get redeemed, I will try for it. If not, I have no interest in it. Heaven would become Hell if they were not there, and Hell is Heaven with them here,” she told you plainly. You smiled at this.

“That is sweet,” you said to her. She blushed and bowed her head a little.

“Thank you for saying so. It is most kind of you to say that,” Shadow replied. The limousine came to a sudden stop and you had to hold onto the railing in order to stop yourself from falling. The driver came around to the side of the limousine and opened the door.

“We have arrived,” he told you. You took in a deep breath. Velvet and Shadow were giving you thumbs up and smiles.

“You will be fine,” mouthed Velvet.

“Thank you,” you mouthed back. You headed out of the limousine with a nervous expression on your face. You walked to the door and moved to knock, however, the door swung open before you could. A blonde-haired demon smiled at you and squealed when she saw you.

“You must be the guest that James was calling about!” she said. You raised an eyebrow.

 _“James?”_ you thought to yourself, but then it hit you. She was probably talking about Vox. He likely called to say that you would be arriving and likely used a fake name in order to better hide the plan. That made sense.

“Yeah. That would be me,” you said. She hugged you tightly and you nearly fell back in surprise.

“Welcome to the Happy Hotel! We are so happy to have you here with us! Your stuff is already in a suite upstairs. I see you have some more bags too. I will have Niffty take them to your room for you,” she excitedly said.

“Do I have to sign up or anything?” you asked.

“Oh! Um… you could do that!” she replied. She grabbed a napkin that had been sitting on a counter and gave it to you. You wrote down your name and smiled.

“I don’t think I caught your name,” you brought up as you wrote your name.

“Oh my goodness! Sorry! I am just kind of excited to have a guest finally! I’m Charlotte, but please just call me Charlie. Everyone around here does,” she informed you. You turned your head to face her. Now that she had told you her name, you could see the family resemblance. She did look like the Devil. She had a kinder aura to her, sure, but you could see it for sure. You did not know if you should bow or not. You decided to play it safe and you bowed your head to her.

 _“Am I doing this right?”_ you wondered. Charlie looked absolutely mortified and you began to worry that you were supposed to kneel or something. She was quick to dismiss this fear, however, when she began to frantically shake her head.

“Oh no! Please! You don’t have to do that! Really! I might be related to Lucifer and I might be the princess, but I am not when I am here. I just own the hotel! Just think of me as the hotel’s owner. Or as a friend! That is all,” she insisted.

 _“She is really… humble. Oh my gosh! I did not think she would be this kind!”_ you thought to yourself. You stood up fully and smiled.

“Ok. I will keep that in mind,” you promised.

“Thank you,” she told you. “Well, now that that is settled… did you want a tour?” she offered.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” you replied, happily accepting her offer.

As Charlie showed you around, you realized that the hotel was quite a bit larger than you had originally thought it would be. She showed you around the kitchen, lobby, meeting room, office, staff room, laundry room, library, and then led you to the area where the guest rooms were.

“Here is where you will be staying. Did you have any questions before I let you go and let you get settled in?” she asked.

“This place is really big and it seems like a lot of work to keep up. How do you do it?” you said. You were well aware that she was not alone in running the hotel, but you figured this was the best way to find out about Alastor and the other staff at the hotel.

“It is honestly a group effort. My girlfriend, Vaggie, runs the registration normally, but she is shopping for groceries right now. We ran out, so she is trying to find a store that is still open. Husk is a cat demon and he runs the bar. Niffty does bag-check and she also does housekeeping as well. Finally, we have Alastor. He is the manager at the hotel,” Charlie told you. You froze at Alastor’s name.

“Alastor is the manager?” you asked. You knew he worked at the hotel, but you did not know he was the manager there. Charlie gave you a nervous chuckle.

“Hehe… um… yeah… he is,” she confirmed. You drew in a sharp breath.

“Is he here right now?” you whispered out. She took a moment to think.

“I… I am not too sure. He went out to try and recruit some people for the hotel. I don’t know if he came back or not. Listen… I know that Al might not have the best reputation, but he has helped so much around here. He was the one that brought Niffty and Husk here to volunteer. He might seem a little scary considering his past and his other occupation, but everyone is here for a fresh start. I know that, deep down, he is no different. Just give him a chance, ok?” Charlie practically pleaded with you.

 _“So, she has no idea about what my connections are to Alastor? I guess that would make sense. My near second death did only take place when she was an infant. She would probably not remember my voice from the show. Even if she could remember, it was only audio. No one saw my face. He never said my name either. So, she must think I only know him from tales and from the radio,”_ you thought. You decided it would not hurt to allow her to continue that train of thought.

“I will try my best to put my past ideas of him behind,” you fibbed. It seemed to fool her, for she let out a sigh of relief. She smiled at you and you felt somewhat bad about not being honest with her.

“Thanks. Anyhow, I should let you settle in. Come and find me if you need anything at all, ok?  
she told you. You nodded, took the key to your room, and thanked her. She left the hallway and you made your way to the room.

The room was much larger than you thought it would be. Charlie had not lied when she told you that it was a suite. The bed had pink and green sheets on it and had a bright blue headboard. There was a small writing desk in the corner of the room and three shelves filled with books above the desk. You saw a cabinet by the desk and opened it. Inside was over 20 containers filled with a variety of candies and chocolates. There were also a few mini cakes there as well in little boxes. You shut the cabinet door and continued to explore. You made your way to the large walk-in closet and saw all of your clothing in there. They were neatly hung and sorted by the type of clothing they were. You walked to the bathroom next. It was big as well and the mirror was lined with smiling faces made from various jewels. The bathroom smelled like fresh pine. A smell you had not been able to experience in such a long time. You stayed there for a moment and enjoyed the scent. Eventually, you left the room and returned to the bedroom. You saw another room splitting off from the bedroom and you checked it out. It had a large television, a marble coffee table, and a small kitchen set that included a stove, a sink, a fridge, and a freezer. The kitchen was fully stocked as well.

“This place is amazing,” you whispered in amazement. You then heard a knock on your door. You looked through the peephole nervously. You were worried it was Alastor. Your fears were eliminated when you saw a small demoness in a messy pink and white dress. She had bright pink hair and she had one large eye that stared into the other side of the peephole.

“Hi there! My name is Niffty! It is nice to meet you! We are having a welcome party for you! When you are ready, please join us in the hotel lobby!” Niffty yelled from the other side of the door.

“Party?” you called.

“Yep! We got back and Charlie told us we had a guest! Vaggie is setting up things right now! There is a cake and everything too! Angel and I made the cake! It is in the oven, but it will be done soon!” she told you. You could not help but smile at this.

“That sounds amazing. I will join you all soon, ok?” you said. You saw her nod and smile.

“See you soon!” sang Niffty as she skipped off. You smiled to yourself.

“Everyone here has been so kind to me so far. I cannot believe people that are so nice work with that monster,” you pondered. You sighed a little bit. You supposed that they did have their reasons. Best to leave them to those. You freshened yourself up, put on a new outfit, and then you made your way to the lobby.

As soon as you came down the stairs, you were greeted to a large number of streamers in your face. You blinked a few times in surprise. When the streamers finally fell, you saw a huge banner welcoming you to the hotel. You saw Charlie standing with another young woman that you deduced must be Vaggie. You saw a man leaning against the bar and you recognized him as Angel Dust thanks to the posters you had seen around the studio before. He was trying to flirt with the bartender who you remembered was named Husk. Husk pushed Angel away and rolled his eyes. You felt someone hugging your leg and you smiled when you saw it was Niffty hugging you. You could not help but pat her on the head. She looked adorable. She giggled a little and took off to go have some of the cake.

You enjoyed the party for a while. You and Angel talked a lot. He knew about the plan and was non-partial to it. You learned a lot about the time you had missed while you were “dead”. You learned about Hell’s rules and about the latest gossip. You chatted a little with Niffty too. She was very hyper and talked fast, but she was sweet and you took a liking to her right away. Part of you wanted to speak with either Vaggie or Husk, but both seemed a little bit intimidating to you, so in the end, you decided against it.

As much fun as the party was, you began to feel a little bit tired. You were not used to all of the excitement and enthusiasm, and it had been a long day. You excused yourself and headed to the restrooms near the lobby. You splashed some cold water onto your face and took a moment to collect yourself. Then, when you were ready to go back, you headed out of the bathroom. You were on your way back when someone called out to you.

“Ah! Why hello there, my dear! You must be the new guest here! Welcome to the Happy Hotel! Or as I call it, the Hazbin Hotel!” called an all too familiar staticky voice.

You felt your breathing stop. Your heart was beating hard in your chest and you were surprised it did not leap right out. Your head began to feel light. It was hard to see, and the world felt as though it were spinning around you. You felt like vomiting. You felt like running, but your legs were frozen in place. You thought back to fight, flight, or freeze, and you realized that you had frozen completely.

“Forgive me for taking up your time, my dear. I know they are waiting for you at the party, and I am sure that you must be eager to get back to them. After all, Charlie put quite a lot of effort into throwing this very last-minute surprise party for you, and everyone seems to be buzzing! Even Husker seems like he is enjoying himself a little bit. And let me tell you! It is hard to get him to enjoy himself at events like this. Very hard indeed. Anyhow, I should probably get right to the point. I just wanted to get a chance to introduce myself before everything gets all crazy here. More so than normal, I mean. My name is…” he began. You turned around and he gasped.

Alastor stepped backward and his hands were shaking. His ears were flat against his head and you saw his tail was folded down. Had the tail been longer, you would have imagined that it would be tucked between his legs. His eyes were wide, and he had gone pale. He blinked a few times in shock. It looked to you as though he were attempting to ensure that the sight in front of him was real.

 _“Trust me. I have been there,”_ you thought to yourself as you remembered the first time that you had met him when you were human. You shivered at the thought and did your best to push the memory down deep. You wanted to hate him at that moment. Seeing him there in front of you after all that time. You wanted to hate him.

Yet you could not bring yourself to hate him. No matter how much you tried to tell yourself in your head to hate him, you could not manage to convince your heart what you wanted in your head. You gave him a small nervous smile.

“Hello Alastor. I suppose it has been a while, hasn’t it?” you told him. Alastor walked over to a chair near the restrooms and sat down. You sat down on a leather seat across from him. The two of you just stared at each other in disbelief. It was like a moment from a nightmare. Or maybe from a dream. You could not decide which it was, but there was one thing you knew for sure.

This man sitting across from you was the one haunting both your heart and your mind, and he could break both in an instant.


	3. Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the emotional finale of the series, everything changes for the cast of the story. 
> 
> Secrets are revealed. 
> 
> Love is shared. 
> 
> Hearts are broken. 
> 
> Will our heros make it out alive, or will this story end in bitter sorrow?

The two of you were frozen in the hallway. Alastor had a look of shock on his face and you were certain you must have looked terrified. How could you not though? Here was an infamous and sadistic serial killer who was feared even within Hell itself. The man who had killed you twice… or would have if it was not for your friends and a miracle-working doctor. He was ruthless and cruel. How could you not be scared?

But what shocked you more was the utter look of disbelief and terror on his face. You were allowed to be scared. You were supposed to be scared in this situation. But him… he had the upper hand here. He always had had the upper hand. Even when you thought you did, he was there with an ace up his sleeve. So why did he look so scared now? What on Earth… or rather, in Hell, did he think you were going to do to him?

“This is not possible. You cannot be here. You… I killed you. I know I killed you. I saw you die. I watched you die,” stuttered Alastor after a few moments. You thought back to the plan. It was the only thing you could do to keep yourself from screaming.

“No. You did not. You only thought you saw me die. The blade was a fake. Valentino had a fake one the whole time. He assumed that it was a real blade as well though, so I can see where you made the mistake. Turns out the exterminator messed up and lost his blade during the prior extermination before Valentino caught him. He got a fake one in order to try and scare demons into not killing him. Which obviously did not work out that well for him. Valentino got the fake blade off of the angel. It was not a real angelic one. So, while you did stab me and while it did hurt like nothing else, you did not kill me,” you explained to him as you did your best to fabricate your own details into the story. You cursed mentally cursed Velvet for not giving you more details about your fake cover story.

Either you were better at lying than you thought you were, or he was more shocked than you had thought because he bought your story just like that. He nodded to himself and blinked a few times. He took in a few deep breaths and nodded once more.

“What are you doing here?” he asked you in a demanding tone.

“After your show, I went into hiding with the help of Valentino and Vox. I was too humiliated to show my face. I was going to be a laughingstock if I showed up. Everyone heard me crying and begging on that show of yours, after all. So, I waited it out. Pretended that I was dead. Then I saw the news and I saw the princess talking about a project which could send sinners to Heaven. I figured that a fresh start would be the best thing for me. No one would have heard that broadcast in Heaven. No one would remember my voice when I was there. I could re-invent myself. I would have a blank slate. I could begin again, so to speak. That was the plan, at least. I just… never expected that you would be here,” you fibbed. If you were being honest with yourself, you had no idea how you were coming up with these lies. You were shocked that you were even able to get words out at all. Let alone keep a cool and calm appearance. Alastor took a moment to regain his composure.

“I am going to assume that dear Charlie does not know about our… history?” asked Alastor. When he said that, you felt a pang of jealousy rush through you. You knew it was strange, but when he called Charlie, ‘dear Charlie’, you could not help but feel jealous. You tried to push those thoughts out of your mind though and focused on answering his question.

“No. She does not know,” you told him.

“Good. I think it would be for the best if we kept it that way. It would… certainly cause her quite a lot of stress if she were to know about that,” he suggested. You nodded at this.

“That sounds fine to me. I see no issue with keeping up the act,” you replied. It was probably best for the plan that you did keep Charlie in the dark about your history with Alastor.

“Good. That is that then. I suppose I shall be off,” he told you as he began to leave.

“Make him fall more in love with you,” rang Velvet’s voice in your head.

“We should probably meet up. A few times a month at least. It will help sell the story of us not having anything to do with each other. If we do that, we will look like we are trying to get to know each other better. That might sell it!” you called to him.

 _“This will help with the plan for sure,”_ you thought to yourself.

 _“Are you really only doing this for the plan?”_ the voice in your head asked you. As much as you tried to convince that voice that you were only doing it for the plan, you knew that was not the truth. The truth was that it was not for the plan nor for Charlie. You just wanted to spend more time with him. Yes. You knew how crazy and dangerous that was. Yet it was what you wanted, nevertheless. Alastor turned back around and gave you a confused and shocked look.

“Really?” he asked you. He then gave a quiet chuckle. “I suppose that would be a smart thing to do. I see you are just as brave and interesting as you were before. I am glad that that is the case. It will make all of this more fun and entertaining for sure,” he commented before turning and leaving. Despite his words, you could sense a kindness to that chuckle. You wondered to yourself if maybe it was not just about fun and entertainment to him. Maybe… just maybe… he was glad you were back.

 _“He has hardly changed at all. Hell might have, but he is the same for the most part. Still the same oddball he was back then,”_ you thought to yourself. You went back and joined the others. After the party was over, you retired to your room. You fell asleep and to your surprise, you did not have a single nightmare that night.

You continued along with the plan for months. It turned out that the room you had gotten was not a random one at all. Vox had rigged the pipes in the other rooms to explode, so the only room that you could have been given was the suite. He did this because he could easily hack into the television system in that room. Thanks to this, you could keep in contact with him without having to leave the hotel and risk being discovered. You could report any information to him via the television. Sometimes though, the two of you would just talk. Actually… that happened more often than not. You would spend hours in the evenings or at night talking to each other. Sometimes it was not even about the plan at all. You would talk about the studio or some funny things that had happened to either of you during the times when you were not talking. You welcomed these chats. They felt normal. You always found them to be fun and you were always smiling after your chats with Vox.

But those times could not last forever. You still had to go along with the plan. Which meant long days at the hotel, besides the times when you and Alastor would leave the hotel to explore Hell.

You hated to admit it… but those times out of the hotel with Alastor were a lot of fun. He showed you around the parts of Hell that you had never seen before, and he took you on marvelous adventures.

“He spoils me rotten. He buys me all of these expensive things and he takes me out to wherever I ask him to,” you told Shadow one day. You sometimes met with her when you went out to the city alone. Since only Angel knew she worked for Valentino, it was safe to meet with her even if you were being followed, as no one would know that she was connected to Valentino unless they were to follow her back to the studio, but you doubted they would.

“That sounds sweet,” she told you. You blushed at this.

“I am sure he is just doing it to try and make sure I don’t turn against him,” you replied. Shadow raised a questioning eyebrow at this.

“Are you sure that that is all it is?” she asked.

“What else could it be?” you shot back. She shrugged a little at this.

“I am not sure. I am not an expert on all of this matter. I am merely speaking from my own experiences and from what I have read…but maybe there is a chance that he actually likes you still,” she suggested to you. You stopped walking and turned to her.

“No. That cannot be it. That is not possible,” you insisted.

“Have you asked him about it?” she asked you.

“Pardon?” you said in a shocked voice.

“Have you asked him if he still has romantic feelings for you? I know it might be scary… but it will help you in the end,” she told you. As the two of you began spending more and more time together, you found that she was more open to speaking her mind. She was still very polite and very kind, but she also was less mousy, and she was more honest with you. You were secretly grateful for this because she gave good advice, but sometimes it put you on the hot seat when she asked you questions like that one.

“Do you really think it will help the plan?” you asked. Shadow hesitated. She looked around as though she were nervous that someone would hear her.

“May I… be completely honest with you?” she asked.

“Of course!” you replied. She took in a deep breath.

“When I was human, I fell in love with a man. I knew I kind of liked him from the start. He told me later on that he liked me, and I told him I liked him too. We agreed to stay friends though. It seemed like a good idea to take things slow. We spent a few wonderful years together. Made so many happy memories. He changed my life. Then, without warning, things ended. I was so hurt and heart-broken when he told me he was just no longer interested in being with me. I swore never to love again. I know it might seem silly. We were not even dating. We were just two people who liked each other. But… I fell hard and I fell fast. I was so hurt by him. But then I came to Hell and I met Valentino. Slowly, I began to open up to him. I began to trust him, and I let him into my heart. I asked him one day what I was to him. He told me he had feelings for me but was scared to admit them due to his status as an overlord, as well as our different views on what relationships entailed. Then I told him that I loved him too. We began to try and work together to mend our past hurts and heartbreaks. When I finally asked, it felt like a weight was taken off of my chest. I felt so much better after getting my answer. I think… I suspect that the same will be true for you. It has been on your mind a lot, hasn’t it?” she told you. You sighed deeply.

“Yes. I cannot sleep because of it. I wonder every time I see him. It is always there in the back of my mind,” you admitted to her.

“Then won’t it be a relief to know one way or another?” she questioned. You nodded at this.

“I suppose it would,” you whispered. She gave you a comforting smile.

“Then next time you meet with him, ask him. If you feel comfortable, of course. It will hopefully ease some of your stress,” she advised. You gave her a slight smile back.

“I will try to take your advice, Shadow,” you promised. She nodded.

“You don’t have to, but I think it might be good,” she told you.

After that conversation with Shadow, you tried so hard to find the right time to ask Alastor about his feelings, but every time you tried to, it never seemed right. You were always talking about something else or there were always other people around. You thought that you could just wait for the right time, but the longer you waited, the more it lingered on your mind. The more it began to consume your waking thoughts. So, one day while the two of you were out at the beach close to the hotel, you decided it was the day. You had to get it over with, and even if he said he did not feel that way, you would have an answer at the very least.

“Hey Alastor… if something had been on my mind for a while, would you want me to bring it up to you?” you asked as the two of you sat on the warm sand.

“Yes. Of course, my dear. What has been on your mind?” he asked you back. You took a deep breath.

“Back when you tried to kill me… you told me something very personal. That thing you told me… is it… is it still true? Do you still feel that way?” you whispered out. Alastor looked away from you. His ears were flat, and you could see that his tail was curled against him.

“I… I had a feeling you would ask me that eventually. I… to be honest… my feelings have not changed at all. Believe me when I tell you that that was never my intention. I thought that my feelings would leave me when you… when I thought that you had died once again. But I could not stop thinking about you. I’ve tortured and killed so many people. Both on Earth when I was human and in Hell as a demon. But the nightmares never came any of those times. Yet, after your torture and what I assumed was your second death, the nightmares were relentless. Those nightmares… they were the worst I have ever experienced. Nothing I have seen nor done compares to the horror in those nightmares. They destroyed me bit by bit. I just thought I would have to live with the pain of what I had done forever. Unable to right the wrong of what I had done. But then… then you came back into my life. And all my feelings for you only increased,” he admitted to you.

“Why did you not say anything?” you questioned. He let out an exhausted sigh.

“Because I am the Radio Demon. Feared and hated all throughout Hell. I have hurt so many people. Most of all though… I hurt you. I hurt you so much. So, how could I tell you? I saw the horrified look on your face when I saw you at the hotel for the first time after I nearly killed you,” he replied.

“I wasn’t horrified. I was just scared. How could I not be scared?” you countered. He nodded at this.

“I suppose that that is fair, my dear. Are you still afraid of me?” he asked you. You hesitated before answering. You were still scared of him, but you did not want to tell him that for two reasons. One was that you did not want to risk him taking advantage of the fact that you were still scared of him. The second reason was that you did not want to risk ruining the feelings that he had for you. But you knew that Alastor was a very smart man, and you also knew that he would easily be able to tell if you were lying to him about your fears. So, you decided it was best to tell him the truth.

“Yes. I am still scared,” you admitted in a quiet voice. He turned away from you.

“I see. I suppose we have nothing more to say to one another then. Goodbye. I will see you at the hotel,” he told you coldly. He was walking away when you called out to him.

“I have feelings for you!” you shouted. You did not have to think about it or plan it. You just spoke. You did not want him to walk away without him knowing the truth. So, you blurted out the words that you had held back for such a long time.

Alastor turned back around to face you. You could not read his expression no matter how hard you tried. The only thing that had changed on his face was the lack of his normal smile. You were not sure if he was upset, confused, sad or angry.

Slowly though, his facial expression began to change. A smile formed on his face. This one did not look forced though. No. This one looked like a real smile. It was not cruel or sadistic either. It was sweet. His eyes were filled with kindness and hope. A look you had never seen in his eyes before.

“I do hope that you are not lying or just saying that because you think that it is what I wish to hear,” he told you. You gave him a shy smile back.

“No. That is not it at all. What I said is the truth, Alastor. It has been for a while now. I could just never bring myself to tell you,” you admitted to him. He walked over to you and sat down.

“So then… what do we do now?” he asked you.

“We should set some ground rules. That is… if you want to be more than just friends…” you began. He gave you a charming little smile and chuckled a little bit.

“Though it will be a new experience for me, I would love to try and take our relationship to another level,” he replied. You nodded.

“Good. In that case, no more killing. Unless you have to such as if it is self-defence or something like that. I know you have your show and all… but I cannot be with you and know that you are doing that,” you laid out.

“That is fine. Ever since the show you with, I have felt discouraged about my show anyhow. Plus, I am sure that things will pick up at the hotel now that we have our first guest,” he said.

“Good. Your turn,” you said.

“My turn?” he asked. You nodded.

“To state a rule,” you replied.

“Ah. I see. Well, I would rather we kept our relationship… less physically intimate. Not that I do not think you are a stunning demon! I just… I dislike most forms of physical contact that relate to intimacy,” he told you. You gave him a comforting smile.

“That is completely fine. Is hand holding ok?” you asked. You wanted to know his levels of comfort so that you did not accidently cross any boundary lines.

“Yes. That is fine. Hugs are also alright, but please tell me before you are going to do so,” he explained.

“What about kissing?” you questioned. Alastor gave you a worried expression.

“I know that some people kiss as a form of affection or to show love… but for me… well… I do not really feel comfortable with it… and…” he was stammering. You gave him a gentle smile.

“Alastor. It is fine. We don’t have to do anything other couples do if you or I don’t want to. We are the ones that make the rules for our relationship, so if you don’t want to kiss or stuff like that, then we won’t do that,” you assured him. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” he replied.

“Of course. And if I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable or accidently crosses a line, please just tell me, ok?” you requested. He smiled at this.

“I will. I promise. Now then, are there any other rules that you wanted to discuss?” he asked.

“I want to be open about us. About how we are dating. No hiding or pretending,” you told him. You wanted this because you did not wish to hide your feelings for Alastor any longer. Not from him, and not from anyone else either.

“That sounds perfectly fine to me. I see no issues with that,” he replied.

“Really?!” you exclaimed. He nodded at this.

“Why, of course! My dear, I would have it no other way! And in case you were worried about my title or the enemies I have, I can assure you that neither of those things will come in the way of our relationship. I will make sure that no one harms you or even thinks about coming after you. Most of the demons that dislike me are too weak to do anything about it. The single exception to this, of course, would be Vox. But I doubt he will try and take me down. We might be close to equal in power, but considering his defeat before, it is doubtful he would try to attack you,” Alastor told you.

“Yeah. You are probably right,” you responded. But you knew that he was only partially right about that. Vox would likely not attack, but not only because of his defeat before. It was not even because of Velvet’s plan either. Rather, you suspected that he would not attack because of the hidden truth that Velvet had illuminated for you. The undeniable fact that Vox had feelings for you. You expected that that was the real reason he would not move to harm you. Yet, you could never tell Alastor this. So, you would pretend that the reasons suggested by Alastor were the only ones that would impact Vox’s motivations to cause you harm. As much as lying to him hurt you, you could not risk him harming Vox over feelings that Vox had no control over.

“Anything else you wanted to set in place in terms of rules or limits?” Alastor asked. You shook your head.

“No. That is all I can think of at the moment. Anything else you wanted to set down as a rule?” you replied.

“Not that I can think of at the moment either,” he said. He looked at the sky. It was getting darker now. Hell was not like Earth with a clear night and day, however at nights, the skies got just a little darker and you could see what seemed to be a moon, though no one really knew what it was.

“Should we return to the hotel now?” you suggested. Alastor let out a small sigh.

“I suppose that we should. It is a shame though,” he whispered.

“What is?” you asked.

“I always imagined this moment. Telling the love of my life about my true feelings. But when I pictured it, I always saw a sunset with it. This moment is so close to perfect… but there is no sunset,” he told you. You smiled at him, stood up, and offered him a hand. He gave you a small smile and took you hand. The two of you stood there and watched as the red sky faded into a growing crimson.

“I think the moment is beautiful and perfect, because you and I are here. That is all I want,” you said to him. He chuckled and picked you up. You gasped in surprise but relaxed a little bit and let him carry you back to the hotel.

“I suppose you are right. After all, the sunset does not even come close to how amazing you look. It would be a shame for that sunset to try and steal the spotlight from you. Would be an awful rude thing for it to do as well,” he whispered to you. A deep blush covered your face.

“Alastor! Please!” you cried out. He chuckled as you tried your best to cover your face with your hands. It was a weak attempt, but you were trying still.

“I cannot help but compliment you, my dear! It seems like it would be such a shame to keep those thoughts hidden,” he told you. You pouted.

“Well… thank you, but you are going to get me all flustered and then I will not be able to think right,” you mumbled. Alastor placed another gentle kiss on your forehead.

“I don’t think love requires you to think right. After all, no one would fall in love if they were focused on thinking right. I mean, what is logical or relational about love?” he pondered aloud.

“What do you mean by that?” you asked him curiously.

“It is just… love is a very odd thing, is it not? You give someone the key to your heart, but you also give them a hammer alongside of that key. And you leave it up to them to pick whether they use the key to make a little home for themselves within your heart, or whether they will smash your heart into a billion pieces. You have no choice in the matter either way though. You fall in love and once you have, it is so hard to lose that feeling. No. Any rational person would say that love is madness and has no business in the minds of rational people,” began Alastor. He took a moment to think, and then he continued on. “But what good is logic or rationality compared to the joys that love brings? Compared to the wonder of it? Compared to the times the person uses the key and not the hammer. What good would life be without friendship, love, and kindness. So yes, love is nonsensical, insane, and so very risky, but life would feel so much duller without the bonds that we form. Family. Friends. Lovers,” he added. You smiled at this.

“You are a beautifully strange man, Alastor,” you commented. He laughed a little at this.

“I suppose that is not an untrue statement,” he laughed. The two of you made small talk as he carried you to the hotel.

When you both arrived at the hotel, Charlie and Vaggie were standing outside and talking. It seemed like they had just finished up some work on the outside of the hotel. They both turned to see you and Alastor heading back to the hotel.

“Oh my gosh! Are you ok?!” cried Charlie.

“I’m fine. Why?” you asked. You were confused on why you were receiving such a worried reaction from the princess. She blushed a little.

“Well, Al was carrying you, so I was worried you had gotten hurt or something,” she told you.

“No! Not at all! See… um…” Alastor began. He was clearly having trouble finding the right words.

“Alastor and I are dating,” you blurted out. Charlie and Vaggie both gave you looks of utter shock and surprise. You could see the disbelief in both of their eyes.

“Dating?” Vaggie asked. She gave Alastor a glare filled with hate. “If this is one of your sick little games, so help me…” she began, but Charlie pouted at her.

“Come on Vaggie! They are just two demons that fell in love! Let them be!” Charlie pleaded. Vaggie hesitated, but she sighed and relaxed.

“It is not a game. I… I am in love and I know that might seem odd considering my normal demeanor, but I am. I made a promise to do no harm after today and I am going to keep that promise. Because this love I have found is very important to me, and I do not want to lose it,” insisted Alastor. Hearing him say all that aloud hurt your heart so much. He was willing to change. To try and be better. All for you. All for your love.

And you were supposed to help lead him to his second death.

Within that moment, you realized what you would have to do. You looked over at Alastor and gave him a shy smile.

“I am kind of tried. I think I am going to head to my room. Is that ok?” you asked him.

“Of course, my dear. It has been a very eventful day. Get some well-deserved rest, my love,” Alastor replied. You blushed at this.

 _“How is he so sweet?! He is such a smooth talker too!”_ you thought to yourself. You blew him a kiss and you left to return to your room.

Once at your room, you shut the door and locked it tightly behind you. You turned on the television and you waited for Vox. He showed up almost right away. He gave you a sweet smile and you immediately felt bad for what you were about to tell him. Still though, you knew that you could not lie to him. As hard as it would be for you to tell him the truth, you knew that you did not want to lie to him about anything. Especially this.

“Hey! You are a little early to check in. Which is fine! I don’t mind! I was bored at the studio anyhow. Velvet has been rambling for almost an hour about a new fashion line that came out. Anyhow, did you have a good day?” Vox asked you.

“Something happened, Vox. Things here have changed,” you whispered. His eyes went wide at this.

“Are you ok?! Did that Radio Freak hurt you?! I will come over there and rip him to shreds if he even laid a hand on you!” shouted Vox. You looked around worriedly to see if anyone had noticed the yelling, but when there was no knock on your door after nearly a minute, you sighed. You turned back to the television and shook your head.

“No. Vox. Alastor did not do anything to hurt me,” you told him.

 _“This time,”_ part of your mind thought, and you tried your best to put that out of your mind.

“Did he find out about the plan then?” he asked. You shook your head again.

“No. Vox listen…” you began.

“Is he planning something then? Or is it not safe there anymore for you? If you are in danger, we can come over there and get you out. Sure, that might put the plan in a bit of danger… but I am sure that we will figure something out! Actually, you know what, don’t worry about the plan! Forget the plan. This is your safety we are talking about! We are coming to get you out of there…” Vox was ranting, but you cut him off before he could say anything more.

“I am in love with Alastor!” you exclaimed. Vox froze. The room fell to an eerie silence as neither of you spoke.

“In… love…” Vox began. He looked both hurt and stunned at the same time.

“Yes. I told him my feelings today. Vox… Alastor feels the same way. He… we are dating now,” you told him.

“So… what about the plan then?” Vox asked. You bit your lip hard.

“Vox… I am so sorry. I can’t do it. I thought that I could when I started all of this… but I do not want to lose him. Vox, he is not as bad as I thought he was at the start. He is different now. He changed after my death. He is better now. He even promised that he would stop killing and torturing people…” you begun.

“And you really believe him?! He could easily be lying or trying to fool you so he can use you!” Vox cut in. You shook your head.

“It is not like that! Charlie’s plans for redemption might not be as crazy as people think it is! Alastor seems so different now! If Charlie is right… maybe he really can change! Maybe he already is changed!” you insisted to Vox.

“You are only saying that because you are in love with him!” Vox yelled at you.

“You are only saying that because I am in love with him and not you!” you screamed back.

The moment those words left your lips you regretted them. It was a moment of panic and rage. You had been upset that he could not believe that redemption was possible. That Alastor really could be a changed man. You were upset that he thought it was just you being lovesick. So, you snapped back with the first thing that came to your mind.

Vox’s face showed his hurt and his horror clear as day. His eyes were wide and for a while, he said nothing. When he did speak, his voice was filled with static.

“You have no idea what you just said, do you? Do you have any idea how much I love you? How much I care for you? You gave up your life to save me! You and I had a moment in that limousine! All those talks when you would call to check-in. Do you have any idea how special those times were to me? Any clue at all? Because I do. I know the nights I stayed up worrying about you. I know the hours I spent waiting for your call. I know the fear that consumed me because I had no idea if you were alive or not. I know the relief I got every time you called. I know the happiness and the sadness. So, please do not cat like you know my feelings, because you just made it pretty clear that you have no idea about my feelings,” hissed Vox. Tears filled your eyes as you tried to find a way to respond to what he had said.

“Vox. I am so sorry. Please forgive me,” you pleaded. He gave you a sad smile.

“I already have. That is the kicker here. I cannot hate you. No matter how much I want to hate you after what you just said to me… I just cannot hate you. I do blame myself though,” he replied.

“Vox, you cannot blame yourself,” you said. He laughed weakly.

“Of course! I can blame myself all I want to! I knew that you loved him! Deep down, I always knew that you loved him. I knew deep down that if it came to him or me, you would pick him every single time without a doubt. No matter what I did… you loved him and not me,” he whispered. “But I tried so hard to tell myself that it was just in my head. Ha! What a joke! Tried to tell myself?! I lied to myself more like! I lied to myself every single day so that I could cling to the slight hope that you could maybe love me. That you might feel the same about me as I do about you,” he added.

“Vox…” you began, but Vox cut you off.

“Don’t. Just don’t. Look, if you want to go and play family with your new buddies at the hotel, be my guest. But just you wait. When Alastor turns on you, don’t you dare say that I did not try to warn you about him!” he snapped. You jumped a little as the screen turned off with a loud popping sound.

“What have I done?” you asked yourself as you fell back onto the bed. You felt tears beginning to flow from your eyes and you made no effort to stop them. You cried into a pillow and your whole body shook. You then heard a knock on the door.

“Hey… uh… can I come in?” you heard Angel ask. You wiped off your face with a tissue and then you opened the door.

“Hi Angel. Did you need something?” you asked.

“I did… but I think that it can wait. You look awful. Have you been crying?” Angel asked you. You looked away from him.

“It is nothing,” you tried to lie.

“It ain’t nothing. You’ve been crying. I… I know what it is like to have to hide your tears. Trust me. Growing up in the biggest crime family in your city ain’t exactly a walk in the park. So, come on. Talk to me,” Angel insisted. You sighed and sat down on the bed. You knew how stubborn Angel could be. You knew he would not leave until you opened up to him, so you decided against fighting it.

“I am in love with Alastor and he feels the same way about me,” you told him. He raised an eyebrow at this.

“Well… I’m not expert on love, but ain’t that a positive thing normally?” Angel asked. You looked down at this.

“It should be… but it is not. Because of this love… I cannot continue on with the plan. I can’t do that to him. I… I told Vox that, but he did not take it all that well,” you told him. You left out the part about Vox’s feelings for you on purpose. You did not feel that it was your place to tell others about his feelings for you.

“Oh damn. I… I am sorry that happened. That sucks. The whole situation suck,” Angel said.

“Yeah. It really does suck…” you replied.

“Hey… do you think redemption is possible?” he asked you. You raised your eyebrow.

“I do. I did not believe in it that much at first, but I think Charlie is onto something. Alastor… he has changed so much. He is kind now. Sweet. He even swore to me that he would not hurt anyone else or kill anyone else. If he can change like that… then I think he really could be redeemed,” you replied. Angel let out a weak laugh.

“If Smiles could get redeemed, I am sure that anyone could,” he told you.

“Why did you ask about that?” you questioned. You were surprised that he had brought up the topic in the first place. Angel looked down at the ground.

“I want to be redeemed,” he whispered in a soft voice. So soft that you almost did not hear him. You blinked a few times, your shook very much clear.

“You do?!” you exclaimed.

“Yeah. I… all I am here is a porn star. Most people here only care about the me they see on TV or on their devices. They don’t actually care about me. And worse of all, I don’t like me. I mean, don’t get me wrong! I am hotter than Hell itself and my body is vicious, but… deep down… I hate myself. I don’t feel like I’m worth anything, ya know? All people want me for is my body. Most people don’t care if I’m happy, sad, mad or dying. If I could die outside of the extermination, obviously. Actually… on that topic… every year, I sit through the extermination and I wonder if anyone would even care or miss me if I did die in those exterminations. And I’ve come to realize that the truth is… no. Most people would not care. Sure, I’m a big star now. Sure, people love my image, but if I got killed in the extermination, they’d just move on. Before the hotel, I didn’t even care about that. It was just the reality I had to live with. It was all I knew existed, so I sucked it up and just learned to accept it. After I started staying here though, I began to see that it could be different. Cause the folks around here care. Even Vaggie and Husk. We are like a family. A big, messed up, weird family, but it is still the best family that I have ever had. At least they don’t judge me for being gay, cause my Pops and brother sure did. Even here in Hell… they just couldn’t get over the fact that I was gay. Couldn’t get over themselves enough to accept their own family member. But the people of the hotel never once judged me. It is just nice to have a place where I can be open. Plus… they don’t make me feel completely terrible most of the time about my life choices. Except Vaggie, but I think she does it out of her attempt at getting me to better myself. Charlie does that too. She doesn’t encourage my drug habits or my one-night stands, but she is always so kind about it. She encourages me to better myself. She actually thinks that I have a shot at redemption. She and some of the others at the hotel believe in me. I… I guess that part of me wants to get redeemed so that I can show them their efforts did not go to waste. That they were right to believe in me,” he confided.

“Angel… I am so sorry about your biological family. They sound awful,” you told him.

“Not all of them are. My sister is great. She is just not in Hell, so I don’t get to see her often. And my mom… she was the sweetest lady there ever was. A real angel. And then… when I was little… she really did become an angel. See… she got really sick when I was younger. I was around ten when she first got sick, actually. If I could have saved her, I would have. I’d have done anything to save her. But it was just not in the cards. She’s in Heaven now though. If I do get redeemed, getting to see her again would be an added bonus,” Angel told you. You smiled softly and gave him a gentle hug.

“I really hope that you can see her again,” you said to him. He smiled.

“Yeah. Same here,” he said. He then pulled away from you. “So… back to the matter at hand… do ya think that Vox is going to take all of this well? I mean, once he’s calmed down a little bit more and taken some time to think things over,” he asked. You sighed at this.

“I would like to say yes, but at the same time… he seemed to be really upset today,” you told him.

“Yeah. Vox is not the most level-headed demon in Hell,” he replied.

“Will he… do you think he is going to hurt me?” you asked. Angel shook his head.

“No. If he really loves ya, he won’t do anything at all to hurt you. Al though… I mean, he has always had it out for the strawberry pimp. They both hate each other with a passion. So this little change in plans might just send Vox over the edge,” Angel said.

“What do you think he is going to do about this?” you questioned. Angel shrugged a little at this.

“I am not sure. He might try to attack Alastor, or he might try to make a new plan to kill Alastor,” he told you. Your hands balled up into fists, but not from anger. Only from nervousness.

“I do not want him to die, Angel! I don’t want either of them to die! I love both of them!” you cried. It was the truth. You loved Vox as a friend, and Alastor as a lover. You could not stand the thought of losing either one of them. You did not want that. You could not even imagine living without Vox, and you were just starting your future with Alastor.

“I know, sugar. I know. I really hope this all works out. I can’t promise you that as much as I wish I could, but I hope within my heart that it will all work out,” Angel tried to comfort you. He held you close to him and gently rocked you as you cried. You could not stop the tears from streaming down your face, nor did you have the energy to try to. You fell asleep with Angel holding you. It was a comfort that you welcomed.

When you awoke the next morning, you saw that Angel was still there. He had fallen asleep holding you and it would seem he had not made it back to his room. You smiled at this and a yawn escaped your lips.

“Morning,” you whispered to him, trying your best to wake Angel up as kindly as you could manage. His eight eyes opened all at once and you were taken aback by this. You had seen his other six eyes, sure, but you mistook them for dimples underneath his normal eyes. When all eight of them opened up to glance at you, it shocked you and you had to do your best to hold back a scream. He saw the surprise that was written all over your face and he shut the six smaller eyes, leaving the larger two open.

“Hehe… sorry about that. It is a habit. Can’t seem to keep them shut when I wake up,” he apologized. You gave a weak laugh at this.

“D… don’t worry about it. I was just a little surprise is all,” you replied. This caused him to laugh more.

“A little? Hon, you looked like you were about to pass out right on the spot!” he joked. You rolled your eyes, feeling a little less nervous now.

“Yeah… I kind of did look like that,” you admitted.

“It’s fine. I get it. Trust me. You actually handled it well, considering all things. You should have seen some of my clients! They nearly fell off of the bed when they saw all eight of my eyes staring at them in the morning!” he laughed. You could not help but laugh at this as well.

“That sounds like it would have been really funny to see!” you giggled.

“It was! Sometimes my job can get me down, but those times… they always help bring a smile back to my face,” he said to you. He stretched a little. “We should head down before people start wondering where we are,” he told you. You nodded at this.

“That is probably a good idea,” you said. Angel got out of the bed.

“I’ll meet you down there. I am going to freshen up and get dressed,” he told you.

“Did you want me to wait for you?” you asked. Angel shook his head.

“Thanks, but you go on ahead. I tend to take a little while when I am getting ready. After all, it takes a lot to look this good. You can’t rush perfection,” he replied with a bright smile. He then left your room.

You got changed and you tried to freshen up as best as you could. You took in a deep breath and you looked at yourself in the mirror. You thought of Alastor and you wondered if he would like the outfit that you had chosen. If then occurred to you that you had never really had experience with that feeling before. Wondering if someone would like your outfit. Hoping that they would think you looked nice. Hoping that they would be excited to see you. Wondering if they would be excited to see you. You had never had someone that made you beam whenever you thought of them. Never before could the mere thought of someone cause you to feel a myriad of emotions like this.

But now… it was all so different. You began to think about things that you did not before. How did your teeth look? Was your breath smelly, or was it just in your mind? Things like that. But there was also a unique happiness that overcame all of your fears. You felt like you were on cloud nine when you thought about Alastor. His smile gave you butterflies and when you thought of his voice, you swooned. It made you excited for the day because you could not wait to see him.

With all this in your mind, you raced down the stairs. You were so excited to see him again. So excited that you were not looking where you were going, and you did not see the part of the stairs that was torn up and sticking out. You fell hard to the ground as you tripped on it. A whimper escaped your lips as you saw the blood dripping from your leg. It was only a small gash, but it stung like mad and you had to grit your teeth to keep from crying out.

“Oh my gosh! Are you ok?!” you heard Charlie exclaim as she and the rest of the hotel staff rushed to where you were. You saw the look of utter terror on Alastor’s face.

“My dear! Are you alright?! Please tell me that you are alright!” begged Alastor.

“Al, I am fine. Really. It is just a little scrape. I was running and I fell. That was all,” you told him. You could not help but laugh a little at how worried he was getting over a small little flesh wound.

“Oh. I am glad that you are ok then,” he told you as he sighed a breath of relief. He then began to use his magic to heal up the wound.

“Whoa! Since when could you do that?!” Husk asked. He had a very confused look on his face.

“I have always possessed this little talent, Husker. I just never had a reason to use it until now,” he replied. Husk growled at this.

“Hey! What about those times I got hurt in all those bar fights?! You could have helped out there!” growled Husk.

“Yes, but you had to deal with the results of your own actions. This fall was an accident. You purposely started those fights, did you not?” Alastor countered with a smug smirk on his face. Husk grumbled something that you could not quite hear, and he then left the room.

“Thank you for healing me, but I really would have been fine,” you insisted. 

“Nonsense, my love. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I did not do everything in my power to try and ease your pain? Still though… I must ask you why you were in such a rush in the first place,” he replied. You blushed deeply.

“I wanted to see you. I missed you,” you told him honestly. Alastor blinked a few times and then he chuckled.

“You, my dear, are unbearably kind and you are sweeter than sugar. I missed you too, my dear,” he chuckled. He kissed your newly healed wound.

“Can we eat now?” you asked him quietly as your stomach let out a small growl. Alastor chuckled a little.

“Yes. I think that eating would be a good idea,” replied Alastor. He helped you to stand and he helped you walk to the dining room. In all honesty, you did not need the help. You could walk fine on your own. But… you did not mind having Alastor help you. Having his arms gently around you. It was comfortable and you welcomed the kind and gentle embrace.

 _“So different form how he treated you before,”_ the voice in your head whispered. You could not help but shiver at this.

“Are you ok?” asked Alastor. You forced a smile.

“Yeah. I am fine. Just a little chilled is all,” you lied. You did not want to tell him the truth. Alastor gave you a curious expression, but he sighed and simply accepted your answer. He pulled out your chair for you and you sat down. You waited until everyone had taken their food and then you began eating. When you were all about halfway done the meal, Angel came downstairs.

“You are pretty late. Everything good?” Husk called.

“Yeah. I just needed to get all prettied up. Why? You lonely without me?” asked Angel. Husk blushed deeply at this.

“Shut up,” Husk muttered. Everyone tried to hide their laughter at this. Angel sat down beside you and smiled to you.

“So… what is the plan for today?” asked Niffty.

“What does everyone want to do?” Charlie asked.

“I am not too sure,” replied Vaggie.

“Can we go to the carnival?” Niffty questioned.

“Carnival?” you said. You had no idea there was a carnival in Hell! Let alone in the city!

“Yeah! There is a demon named Blitzo I know. Him and his… I don’t know if they are dating or not, but him and Stolas told me one time about this carnival in town!” Niffty explained.

“You know Stolas?” Husk asked the little demoness. Niffty nodded.

“Yep. I know him through Blitzo. I hired his assassination company a little while ago, but they weren’t actually that good. Anyhow, can we please go?!” begged Niffty.

“I don’t know… I mean… we do have to run the hotel,” Vaggie began, but Charlie placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“We can take the day. It has been pretty slow recently,” countered Charlie. Vaggie sighed but she was still smiling.

“Ok. Fine. But we will make sure to leave the sign-up sheet out. Just in case someone comes to sign up,” Vaggie replied.

“Yes!” you, Charlie, Niffty, and Angel all shouted at the same time. There was a moment of silence, and Husk and Alastor both started laughing.

“I suppose that we are going to want some lunch. I will cook up some food for the day. Or… actually… I might make sandwiches. That might be easier,” Alastor said.

“I will get some snacks and drinks ready!” Charlie said.

“I will call the limousine,” Vaggie added.

“Did you want to have some help with the snacks?” you asked Charlie.

“Oh! That would be lovely!” she replied.

Everyone helped to get things ready for the trip to the carnival in their own way. Angel invited his friend, Cherri Bomb, to join you all. She showed up right before you all were leaving. She seemed nice enough. Wild for sure, but you did not mind this at all. You could easily see how her and Angel were friends though.

The limousine ride was actually pretty short and you had spent it looking over the city’s landscape. When you all arrived at the carnival, NIffty rushed over to the limousine and began to explore. Alastor exited the limousine and he held out his hand for you to take.

“Would you care to spend this day together? Our first official date, so to speak,” he offered. You smiled and took his hand.

“I would love that,” you told him, and the two of you did just that. You went on rides and you played the carnival games. You knew that Alastor was letting you win all of the games on purpose, but it was still fun. The proud look on his face made it all wroth it. Well… that and the prizes. He let you keep all of the prizes the two of you won. Your favorite one was the stuffed toy of a sweet looking deer. Alastor had hesitated against picking the prize at first. He told you it would remind him of his less than intimidating deer attributes. You told him you loved those parts of him because they were all cute and innocent. After some persuasion on your part, Alastor caved in.

“You are lucky you are so very cute. I simply cannot say no to you,” he told you as he selected his prize. You hugged the deer stuffy tightly and smiled at Alastor.

“Thank you! I love it! It is so cute and fluffy!” you happily exclaimed. Alastor chuckled at this. After the deer was cradled safely in your arms, you two met up with the group. You both waved at Charlie, Vaggie, Niffty, Husk, Angel and Cherri. They all waved back to you. You sat next to Alastor and you all began to munch on the lunch and snacks that you had bought. You noticed that most of the snacks were missing, and when you raised an eyebrow at this, everyone looked to Niffty. Niffty had a guilty expression on her face as she shoved a whole sandwich in her mouth. She was too adorable to be mad at, so you just laughed and went to eat your sandwich.

There were some pleasant conversations shared during lunch, and you got to learn a lot about Cherri during that time as well. It was nice to have a chance to just sit and chat with the group. You could see what Angel was saying about it feeling like a family. When you were all eating, laughing, and chatting it really did feel like a family lunch event. You found yourself sharing stories about your past life. You felt safe talking with them. There was only one issue.

You still had to lie to everyone about your life. You had to lie to Alastor about how you were really back. You had to lie to the rest of them about your past with Alastor. And you hated that. You hated lying to a group that was so welcoming and accepting. But… how could you tell them? Tell Charlie that you only joined her hotel to try and lure Alastor into a trap. Tell her that you worked with Vox, Velvet, and Valentino to try and destroy Alastor. How could you tell her after all this time has passed? How could you ever tell Alastor? Would he hate you for it? Would he leave?

“Darling? Are you alright?” you heard Alastor ask. This broke you out of your trance.

“Y… yeah. I am fine,” you lied to him.

“Are you certain? You seem to be awful pale all of a sudden. You look unwell,” he insisted. You forced yourself to smile, but it was Angel who saved you from having to answer.

“It is all the loud noises and stuff. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming for some people,” Angel cut in.

“Is that it?” Alastor asked you. You nodded.

“Yes. It is just a little much at times. I haven’t been to a crowded area in such a long time, and as much as I love this carnival… it is very loud,” you fibbed, working off of the tale Angel had spun. Alastor chuckled at this.

“Well, that may be a little bit of a problem for us, considering that I do have a lot of fans that tend to swarm me at times. They can get quite loud. I am shocked we haven’t encountered too many here, actually,” he told you with a laugh. You looked down at this.

“Oh. Yeah…” you mumbled. Fans. You had forgotten that he had fans. Many, most likely. You were not sure why you had not thought of that before, but now that he had mentioned it, you could not help but feel jealous. Alastor saw this and he took your hand.

“You need not worry about them, my love. While I enjoy having fans, they are not the ones who hold my heart. That belongs to you and you alone,” purred Alastor. You smiled to him.

“I am honoured to hear that,” you replied.

“Sweet as this is, I think we really should head back to the hotel. I don’t like the idea of the hotel being unwatched for so long,” Vaggie mentioned.

“Aww! Just a little longer!” whined Charlie. Vaggie gave her a sad smile.

“Maybe next time, hon,” Vaggie said.

“Yeah! We can always come again another time!” Charlie exclaimed.

You all nodded in agreement and began to pack up. There was a little small talk, and you thanked Angel for helping cover for you. He told you that it was nothing and went back to talking with Cherri.

You were all very tired on the ride back to the hotel. You fall asleep on Alastor, who had his regular tailcoat wrapped around you as a blanket. You snuggled into it with a smile, yawned, and let sleep carry you off.

“Dearest, wake up,” whispered Alastor when you all returned to the hotel. You opened you eyes and stretched. Alastor smiled and kissed your forehead. You carefully got out of the limousine and you gave Alastor a smile as he got out of the limousine and held your hand. You saw Charlie and Vaggie walking ahead of the rest of the group. They entered the hotel and Niffty held the door for you all. You were about to ask Alastor if he had enjoyed the day when you noticed he was staring at a car parked outside of the hotel. It did not seem familiar to you, so you guessed that it must have belonged to a new guest.

“Looks like we will have a new friend here with us,” you commented. Instead of smiling at this, however, Alastor took on an expression that you could not read.

“Maybe…” was all he replied. That was when you heard Charlie scream from inside the hotel.

“VAGGIE NO!” she had yelled out. You and Alastor shared a look of horror and worry as you both ran to the hotel.

“We’ve got company!” Husk told Alastor 

“Alastor! Help!” cried Niffty. You could hear the panic within her voice. When you and Alastor entered the hotel, both of you froze.

Sitting on the couch in the lobby was Velvet, Valentino, Vox and Lucifer. Vaggie was on the ground and she was holding her side in pain. All of them turned to look at you, and Lucifer smirked.

“Ah! Finally! The stars of the show have decided to make their lovely little entrance! Welcome!” Lucifer exclaimed.

“Why are you here, Dad?!” Charlie demanded. You were surprised that she was taking on such a harsh tone. Not only because Lucifer was her father, but because every time you had seen her, she was so kind and understanding.

“Why, I cam to collect what is mine, of course,” replied Lucifer.

“And what would that be?” growled Alastor. Lucifer’s smirk grew at this and he chuckled.

“I would have thought that would have been rather obvious at this point,” he began, but he cut himself off. He then realized the truth of the matter and he began laughing wickedly. He turned to you with a sick grin on his face, clearly enjoying himself. “Oh dear! You really did not tell them yet?! How very funny! I bet that your lovebird does not even know the truth about you!” Lucifer laughed. He was looking directly at you, and so was everyone else in the room now.

“Stop. Please,” you begged him.

“What is he talking about?” Alastor asked you.

“Lucifer is talking about the fact that you killed your love, and we had to do a powerful spell in order to bring that love of yours back. Oh! And that is just the tip of the iceberg!” answered Vox.

“W… what is he talking about?” Charlie questioned.

“He is making up tales once again. Just like he always does. What happened? Did you get bored and hear that I had found love? Did you decide that you were going to come and bother me because I found happiness?” taunted Alastor. You began to tear up and you saw Vox recoil. He looked regretful about the fact that you were close to crying. You were once again reminded of the fact that he was in love with you. That he cared so deeply about you… and now, because of you, he was also heartbroken. You were tired. So tired of causing him pain and torment.

“He is not lying,” you spoke up.

“What do you mean?” questioned Alastor. You drew in a deep breath.

“Well, I was going to do this now, but it seems that you all have things that should be discussed. I will leave you all to it, however, I will be in contact later on,” Lucifer cut in. He then stood up and left the hotel without so much as another word. Valentino and Velvet followed him, and judging by the looks on their faces, it was clear he had dragged them there to witness his little stunt. Vox hesitated and he remained in place. He then silently stood up after a few minutes and he walked to the door. Right before he left, however, he turned back to you and Alastor.

“Alastor!” Vox called out.

“Yes?” called Alastor back.

“You are a very lucky man to have a love who is as amazing as the one you have. Cherish that, and never let that go. Because if you do or if you betray that love… I will use every force I have in Hell to slaughter you,” shouted Vox. Alastor gave him a very casual smile, considering that Vox had just threatened his life, but you knew Alastor was not on to be intimidated by someone else. Vox left the hotel after that, shutting the doors behind him. Once he was gone, Charlie looked over at you.

“What was that about?” she asked. You took in a deep breath.

“Guys… I… I have not been exactly honest with you all. I have things that I should tell you. Should have told you a long time ago… but I am going to tell you them now,” you replied. They all sat down and you tried to calm yourself down. Your heart was pounding in your chest, but you knew that this was the right thing to do. You could not lie to them anymore. Not just because of what Lucifer and Vox had said, but because they were your friends and you hated lying to them like this. You took in another breath and then began to tell them the whole truth, starting with both of your deaths.

Once you had finished talking, the room filled with a heavy silence. Vaggie and Charlie both looked shocked. Niffty looked curious and Husk looked bored. Alastor looked conflicted. His face held an expression that was a cross of sadness and hurt.

“So… I did kill you after all,” he whispered in horror. You looked to the ground.

“Yes. When you left me that second time in Hell, I moved onto whatever comes next. If anything. I don’t really remember much. Vox, Valentino, and Lucifer brought me back after that,” you answered. He took a deep breath.

“My dad sent you to… kill Al?” Charlie asked. You nodded.

“Yes. He did. But I swear that I told them I would not do it!” you promised. You were crying now, feeling all the guilt hit you at once like a truck.

“You were going to kill him!” shouted Charlie.

“Because I was the enemy, Charlie. I did so many terrible things. I would have deserved it. You were too young to remember this… but I broadcasted all that hurt and pain. It would have been humiliating… if it had not been life-ending,” Alastor replied in a low voice. Charlie was about to protest this, but then Vaggie placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Charlie, you know that I would have done the same thing for you. You know I would have done anything if someone had hurt you like that,” Vaggie argued. Charlie sighed.

“I know. And I would have done the same if someone had killed you and taken you away from me,” Charlie whispered.

“Look, I understand if you hate me for this. I will understand it fully if you want me to leave. I just want you all to know that I care about all of you, and I am not going to do anything that hurts any of you ever again,” you told them.

“I cannot speak for them… but I could never hate you. I love you with all of my heart. I love you much too much to ever hate you,” Alastor swore to you.

“We are all about forgiveness here. I would go against all of that if I ever hated someone or held a grudge. Plus, you changed, and you came around. You believe in the hotel now. And that is worth so much to me because it means that change is possible for demons,” Charlie chimed in.

“I already knew about it, so no big,” Angel said. When everyone in the room turned and gave him a confused look, he shrugged. “What? I work for Val,” was all he replied. This seemed to be a good enough answer for everyone else, as they turned their attention back to you.

“I want to kill Alastor a lot too, so I can’t judge you for it,” Vaggie muttered.

“Vaggie!” cried Charlie.

“Haha! The feeling is mutual!” Alastor told her.

“Join the club,” Husk called to you and Vaggie. Alastor gave him a glare. Husk merely laughed and went back to his booze.

“T… thank you all. I can never repay your kindness,” you cried to them. Tears streamed down your face and you could barely speak.

Your secret was out, and yet you had not lost any of your friends. They were all still there with you. They were all still on your side and they did not hate you. You could have never imagined that you could find such a kind group of friends, yet here you were. With a group of people who forgave you for you past actions and tried to understand your motives for those actions.

“So… what are we going to do now?” Charlie questioned. Oddly enough, the answer to her question came not from one of the people in the room, but rather from the television in the kitchen area. It had been on, but now you saw that Husk had turned the volume up.

“Hey! Listen up!” he shouted. Everyone turned their attention to the television screen. The news was on and you saw a demoness in a red dress next to a man in a gas mask and grey suit.

“Hello. I am Katie Killjoy,” greeted the woman.

“And I am Tom Trench. We have some breaking news coming from the King of Hell himself,” Tom added.

“Oh no…” groaned Charlie.

“Hello citizens of Hell. This message does not concern most of you. Only my daughter and the group of demons she has chosen to associate herself with,” Lucifer began.

“This cannot be good,” Angel whispered. You knew that he was right. This was not good. This would likely be very, very bad.

“The business we discussed earlier is still of grave importance to me. So, Alastor, you are to meet me to the palace. If you fail to show… I will ruin you all. And if you do not believe me, I know a few secrets that could destroy each of you. Do not doubt that, for I see all,” Lucifer threatened on the news. He then left the screen swiftly.

“Oh! Well, seems like there is some drama in the life of Hell’s princess. Oh, and that little hotel of hers. How could have seen that coming?” Katie said, sarcasm dripping off her words at the end. Husk turned off the news, clearly not wishing to hear anymore.

“What are we going to do?” asked Husk.

“The only thing that we can do. We go and do as he asks. If he wants a fight, I will fight. If not, we go back to the hotel after we do what he asks,” replied Alastor.

“Are you sure that that is a good idea?” asked Charlie.

“I hate to say it, hon, but I think that Alastor might be right. It seems like the best option we have,” Vaggie said.

“Are we all going?” asked Niffty.

“No. I will go alone,” Alastor replied.

“No chance! I am going with you!” you shouted. Alastor shook his head.

“My dear, I admire the courage you have, but I am not going to needlessly put you in danger,” he began, but you cut him off quickly.

“Listen, we can either go together or I can follow you there. I am going either way,” you insisted sternly.

“I… I do not want to you to get caught in the crossfire if a battle starts,” he said.

“And I would never forgive myself if you got hurt while I was safely tucked away here,” you told him. He sighed.

“You are not going to back down, are you?” he asked.

“No. No, I am not,” you told him stubbornly. Alastor let out an exhausted sigh.

“Fine, but at the first sign of any danger, you are to leave. Am I very clear?” Alastor demanded. You rolled your eyes.

“We are meeting with the Devil and three overlords. Everything about this is dangerous,” you muttered. You heard Husk let out a chuckle.

“I like this one,” he laughed. You smiled at him.

“Thanks,” you called.

“I am going too! He is my father! I have to try and talk some sense into him!” Charlie insisted.

“If she is going, I am going to. Don’t even try to stop me,” Vaggie added. Alastor sighed at this.

“I suppose there is no point in trying to convince either of you to stay here so just… try not to get in the way or get us killed please, my dears,” he told them. Vaggie snarled at this, her spear aimed at Alastor.

“You have a lot of nerve saying something like that!” she growled.

“Vaggie! Please!” begged Charlie. She was tugging on Vaggie’s sleeve and Vaggie offered her a small smile.

“Fine, but if things go get messy, you are going to leave. I can’t lose you, hon,” Vaggie told Charlie. Charlie blushed at this.

“Vaggie! I can handle myself! Really! Plus… I am sure things will not get out of hand!” Charlie whined. Everyone shared an awkward look.

“Yeah… sure…” Vaggie said.

“I took the liberty of calling a taxi. It is here,” Alastor’s microphone informed you all. The room went silent.

“Keep the place up and running while we are out,” Alastor finally said to NIffty and Husk. Niffty rushed up and hugged Alastor.

“Please come back safely,” she pleaded. Alastor patted her head softly and he smiled.

“I will. I promise,” he assured her. He gently kissed her forehead. Like a father heading off to work and kissing his child goodbye until they returned home. Niffty let go of Alastor and she rushed off. Husk poured a glass of beer for himself and raised it.

“Go kick some ass,” he yelled. Alastor could not help but let out a surprised laugh at this.

“We shall,” he called to his friend. He looked to you and you nodded. The two of you headed to the taxi. Charlie and Vaggie followed you both.

The taxi ride to the palace was long, but you did not fall asleep. You were far too stressed to allow yourself to fall asleep. You were sitting next to Alastor in the taxi and you shifted close to him.

“Can I please snuggle up to you?” you whispered to him. Alastor gave you a small smile and he nodded.

“Yes. Of course, my dear,” he whispered back. You did not need to be told twice. You clung to his arm and snuggled up with him.

When the taxi finally pulled up to the palace, you reminded attached to his arm. You were so scared to let go. As though you would lose him just by letting go of his arm. Alastor was being very good about the whole situation. You could tell he was feeling a tad bit awkward, however, he did not seem to hate it completely. The two of you got out of the taxi and you saw Vaggie walking Charlie up. It seemed like she was at least able to rest. The four of you walked to the palace door. Charlie knocked on the doors. They opened to reveal a tall woman in a black and purple dress. She smirked when she saw the fear on your face.

“H… hi Mom,” greeted Charlie. You could see the sweat on her brow and her voice was unsteady.

“Hello daughter. I see you have decided to join the Radio Demon in this little… match,” Charlie’s mother, Lilith, replied. Charlie nodded.

“Yes. I am, but I know that there will be no match. I will talk to Dad and reason with him,” Charlie told Lilith. Lilith’s smirk disappeared and it was replaced by a sad little smile.

“Your father… he means well. He only wants to protect you and he is doing all he knows in order to do that,” Lilith said in a sorrowful tone.

“I know, but I can’t let him hurt my friends. Please understand that. I love you and Dad, but I love my other family too,” Charlie told her mother. Lilith gave her daughter a hug and then stepped back.

“Just be careful,” she warned you all. You all nodded and entered the palace. “Your father is in his study! He has some company too!” called Lilith.

 _“Company? Could that be Vox, Valentino, and Velvet?”_ you thought to yourself. You all followed Charlie as she led you to where her father’s study was. She opened the double doors and your suspicions were all too soon confirmed. Sitting on a long couch opposite Lucifer’s desk were Vox, Velvet, and Valentino. When Charlie opened the door, all eyes fell on the four of you.

“Ah! I see you decided to tag along, darling daughter. How touching. I suppose you came to talk me out of killing Alastor. I’d save your breath if I were you,” Lucifer called. He then pulled out an exterminator’s blade. The one you were going to use for the plan no doubt. “I am going to deal with this and there is no changing my mind on it. So, Alastor, shall we hurry this along?” finished Lucifer. Alastor sighed, pushed you off him, and he held his microphone like a bow staff.

“I suppose there is no point trying to delay this any longer. We should get a move on,” he answered.

“Move back, daughter,” Lucifer instructed. Charlie was going to protest as her father stood up, but Vaggie placed a hand on her shoulder.

“There is no use, hon,” Vaggie told her.

“But…” began Charlie, but it was Valentino that cut her off.

“This is between the King and the Radio Demon. No one else had to get hurt,” he told her.

“No one has to get hurt at all! Please! We can all talk this out like adults!” Charlie insisted.

“Guards! Escort my daughter and her girlfriend outside to where their ride is! Do not let them back in!” shouted Lucifer. He smiled softly at Charlie. It was the most sympathetic expression you had seen on his face in a while. Suddenly, two guards showed up and they grabbed Charlie and Vaggie roughly.

“Let me go! Dad! Please!” you heard Charlie cry as they carried Vaggie and her off.

“So… you let me stay. Why?” you questioned.

“I do not want my daughter to have to see this, but you must. I want you to see him die, because that way, you have proof of his death. You will not have to wonder or fear because you will have seen it yourself,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” you snapped.

“All this ‘change of plans’ is only because you are scared of him, right? Well, you are never going to have to fear the Radio Demon again,” he replied.

“No! I love him! That is why I changed my mind! I believe in Charlie’s hotel and I want to see my friends get to Heaven!” you yelled. Lucifer let out a sigh at this.

“You are so foolish…” he began, but then Alastor cut him off.

“No! You are foolish! You are the one who cannot believe in your own child! Charlie is a smart woman and you do not even trust her enough to let her vouch for our characters!” you screamed. This caused Lucifer to laugh.

“No. I do not. I do not trust Charlie because she is supporting a killer and a traitor,” he replied. “And I can forgive her for it. She just has a good heart. That is odd, but not a crime. Foolish maybe, but not a crime. But you both… I can blame you for this whole mess!” Lucifer snapped.

“Blame me then,” Alastor demanded. Lucifer shook his head.

“I cannot blame you for the choices someone else made. For that person breaking their promise. That is on that person and that person alone,” Lucifer shot back. You moved in front of Alastor.

“Hurt me if you wish. You will have to hurt me if you want to hurt Alastor!” you shouted. Angel blade in hand, Lucifer smirked.

“Very well then,” he said, and then he ran at you with the blade aimed at your chest. You shut your eyes tightly and awaited the sharp kiss of the knife.

The pain never came though.

A horror filled scream filled the room and you opened your eyes quickly. The first thing that you saw was Valentino shielding Velvet’s view. You could hear her screams and sobs and you could hear Valentino whispering to her.

The next thing you saw was Lucifer. He was standing in front of you with a look that you could not decipher on his face. He began stepping back and he was breathing heavily. He said nothing. He only stared at something that was lying at your feet. You looked down.

The third thing you saw was Vox. Slumped on the ground with the exterminator blade stuck within his chest. Vox, who had helped save your life by bringing you back from whatever waited for him now. Vox, who had confided in you and had trusted you. Vox, who had loved you with everything he had but had never once forced you into anything. Vox, who was now bleeding out on the ground in front of you.

Vox looked up at you and he gave you a weak smile. You could see that it was taking all of his strength to smile up at you. You fell to your knees and you placed your hands over the parts of the wound that you could without moving the blade.

“Vox! Please! You have to hang in there! Please!” you begged. Vox gave you a sad little chuckle.

“Sorry, but I don’t think there is anything strong enough for me to hold onto. Nothing I can grasp onto that can keep me here,” he told you. You kept shaking your head as tears fell onto his screen.

“Yes. There is. Just hold onto me, ok? Hold my arm and don’t let go!” you cried. Weakly, he lifted his arm and held onto your arm.

“Hey. Don’t cry. I cannot bare to see such a stunning face crying like that. So, come on. Show me a big old smile!” he encouraged. You had to choke back a sob as you forced a smile onto your face. You only did it to please Vox. It was a small and desperate attempt to help him hold on, but you did it anyways.

“Do something! Save him!” you cried to Lucifer. Lucifer shook his head.

“After bringing you back, we hardly have the resources to attempt such a thing,” replied Lucifer.

“Is there nothing you can do?! You are the Devil!” Valentino screamed. Lucifer walked over to him and hit him hard in the stomach with the base of his cane. Valentino winced and he doubled over in pain.

“Val!” Velvet cried out as she rushed to help him up. Valentino stood up slowly, clutching his stomach in pain.

“Yes. I am the Devil. And you shall address me and treat me as such. It seems you have all forgotten that I am still in charge. Yes, I might have shown a momentary kindness, but I am still the King of Hell. Now then, I not only cannot bring him back due to a lack of resources and Vox being a crucial play in the resurrection, which you lot seem to keep forgetting, but I simply do not wish to bring him back. If he cannot help me to defeat Alastor, then I see little point in wasting my time trying to save him,” Lucifer told you all.

“Then leave so I can make my peace and say my goodbyes,” Vox demanded. It seemed that he cared little about Lucifer’s threat. It brought a smile to your face when you thought of how brave he was despite everything happening.

“I suppose I could do that. For all your help up to this point. But please do bugger off quickly. I do not need you bleeding out for too long, alright?” Lucifer instructed. He then snapped his fingers and he disappeared from the palace. Once he was gone, you returned your face to Vox.

“We do not need him. We can save you on our own. We do not need Lucifer,” you whispered to Vox. He laughed and then he winced in pain.

“He was right though. I cannot really store my own memory in order to save myself. If I… when I die, that will be it. I am sorry, but that is the truth,” he told you.

“No! I do not accept that at all! There has to be another way!” you sobbed.

“There is not. But… that has to be ok. You have to learn to let that be ok. You have to say goodbye,” he insisted.

“I don’t want to,” you sobbed. “I can’t do it. Vox, I can’t. I only just got back a little while ago. What about our late-night chats? Talking about everything and nothing. We still have to do that. We have to go to the mall still. Remember? You could not make it last time, so you said we could go a different day. Charlie told me we might go back to the carnival. You could come with us. We still have to go, Vox. We have to hang out and chat more. Alastor knows everything now, so we don’t have to hide. We can be honest about being friends. We can hang out and just relax. Or we can chat through the TV. Whatever works best for you. It can be up to you,” you rambled. You were crying hard now, and it was getting harder to breathe. Vox’s hand tightened, but it was meant in a comforting way.

“I am sorry. I don’t think I’m going to be able to go shopping with you or go to the carnival. But you can go with Velvet, Shadow, or Valentino. I am sure they would be happy to go,” he told you.

“But I don’t want to go with them. I want to go with you! I want to hangout with you! I want to go to the park and waste the day away with you!” you whined. Vox smiled.

“You know, that all sounds really nice. Maybe, if there is something after this… maybe we can do all of that there,” he whispered to you. You sobbed hard at this.

“I am so sorry I got upset and said those awful things to you. I never meant to. I did not want to hurt you. I would never mean to hurt you. I never wanted you to get hurt,” you apologized to him.

“Hey. It is ok. I promise you that it is ok. You were just upset. I get it,” he assured you.

“No! You are supposed to be mad at me! You are supposed to get upset and hate me!” You cried out. You wanted to get in a big fight with him, because it was easier that way. It was easier for you to get into a fight than deal with the hurt and pain you were feeling inside.

“I guess you forgot what I told you before then. I could never hate you. Never in my life… or afterlife, rather. How could I hate you when you are my everything?” he replied.

“Vox. Please don’t say such things,” you sobbed.

“Can’t help it. My power is draining, so less of it is going to my speech filter,” he told you. You only realized that he was joking when he began to weakly chuckle at your confused reaction. You were stunned by this. How could he joke at a time like this?! He was bleeding out without any hope of coming back, yet he was so calm. He was joking, smiling, and laughing. How was he acting like everything was ok? When that thought crossed you mind, so did the answer to your silent question.

He was doing it for you. He was putting on a brave face and everything so that he could try and make all of this easier on you. Even when he was dying, he was still trying so hard to make you happy. That broke you. The knowledge that he was spending his final moment trying to keep you happy. It shattered your heart.

“Can you give me a moment with Vel and Val?” Vox requested. You nodded.

“Valentino. Velvet. Vox… he wants to talk to you,” you told them. They both nodded to you and you saw Valentino pick Velvet up and carry her towards Vox. The three of them talked and you could her Velvet start to cry heavily. Valentino had her cradled in his top arms and he was holding her close to himself. You saw him bend down and the three of them shared a long hug. It took everything in you not to cry at this, but you managed to keep quiet. Valentino carried Velvet to where you were standing. His glasses were off and there were tears staining his face.

“Vox wants to say… to say…” he began. He took a moment to collect himself before continuing. “Vox wants to say goodbye to you,” he informed you. You could tell that he was struggling to keep it together, but one glance to Velvet’s shaking and sobbing form told you that he would keep it together as long as he was with her. He was not going to break down because she needed him to be strong. It occurred to you in that moment that the three of them, the V gang, shared a bond that nothing else you had ever seen compared to. It was something magical, and you knew inside that losing Vox would break them both in ways you could never imagine.

“O… ok. Thank you,” you replied to him. He nodded and then carried Velvet over to a nearby couch. You made your way back to Vox and knelt down.

“So… I guess this is it, huh? To be honest… it is not a bad way to go out. Dying heroically for the person you love. Sure beats my past death. Actually… this might be the most self-less thing I’ve ever done,” he spoke to you in a shaking voice.

“Vox. I’m so scared. I don’t want to lose you. I want you to stay here,” you sobbed to him. He took hold of your hand softly once again.

“I know. I know. But I cannot stay. I am going to have to leave soon. I don’t have much time left, so I need you to listen,” he whispered.

“I am listening,” you promised.

“From the moment I first met you, I knew you were special. I knew you were going to steal my heart. And even though you were… are in love with another man, I do not regret loving you. Not for one second. That is because I have felt things with you that I have never felt before. I’ve felt giddy and I’ve felt like the world…er… Hell was in the palm of my hands. I felt nervous and flustered and I’ve loved every single minute of it all. If I could go back, I would not change anything, and I would re-live it all until this moment here. Because I would never risk all of the very precious moments that we have shared together. Even though things did not go exactly to plan… I am so glad I will leave Hell with so many amazing memories. When I was with you, it was the most alive I’ve ever felt. So, thank you for that. Thank you so much. Please. Never forget that, with all my heart, I love you,” he whispered to you. You were about to respond…

Then you felt his grip on your hand loosen.

You stared in horror at Vox. Part of you wanted to tell yourself that he was just letting your hand go to be comfortable or something like that, but his screen was off and he was lying there motionless before you. There was no sign of breathing and there was no sound coming from him. No breaths being drawn. No moans of pain or gasps for air. Not the static that you could sometimes hear coming from him when he was stop talking and the room was mostly silent. There was nothing but the sound of Velvet’s heart wrenching sobs coming from behind you.

“Vox… Vox… come on. Get up. Wake up,” you whispered in horror.

“My dear…” began Alastor. You had nearly forgotten he was there until he spoke, and even when he spoke, his voice sounded distant. Like he was in another room or somewhere else far away. Velvet’s sobs sounded like that too.

“Vox. Please wake up. Please come back. You told me you would hold on. Remember?” you told Vox, holding out your hand for him to take. To hold as he had held it mere seconds ago.

“My dear, please,” Alastor said, but you ignored him completely.

“Vox. Come on! This is no time to joke…” you began, but you were stopped by Alastor when he grabbed your hand.

“My love, I am so sorry, but he is gone,” Alastor told you. His voice was stern but soft as well. You paused for a moment. Then, all at once, a rush of emotions hit you and you let out a scream. You screamed and sobbed until your throat hurt, and after that, you just whimpered and shook. You barely noticed it when Alastor picked you up and carried you away from Vox’ corpse. You let him carry you outside and you saw him talking to Charlie and Vaggie. You knew by their reactions he was telling them about what had happened to Vox, but you could hear nothing. It was as though you were in your own little bubble.

You stayed in that little bubble for months. Angel and Alastor brought you your food and anything else that you needed for the first while. When you were a little less dazed, you would drag yourself out of your room and you would join the group. You never really felt like you were there though. In your mind, you were still at the palace and you were waiting for Vox to hold you just once more. Even when you were physically with the group, you still felt alone. It was no fault of theirs, of course. Everyone at the hotel was so kind and understanding… but none of them could really help you. You knew that in your heart. You needed time, and they seemed to understand that too, giving you all the time you needed.

One day, things at the hotel changed drastically. You came downstairs to see Valentino and Velvet at the hotel. You originally thought that they were just there to talk about Vox or about business or something like that, but then you saw Velvet signing a familiar sheet of paper and a few other documents that looked like they had been created and printed last minute. You walked up to them with a small smile on your face.

“Hi Velvet. Hi Valentino. What are you both doing here?” you asked them.

“Velvet is going to be staying at the hotel for a while. We thought it would be best,” Valentino explained. Velvet nodded.

“There were too many reminders back home,” she told you. You nodded at this.

“Well, you are going to love it here. I promise,” you swore to her. Velvet smiled at you softly. You saw Charlie wave over at you all, signalling for Velvet to come over to her. Velvet waved you and Valentino goodbye and went over to Charlie. You saw her follow the princess off into the farther corridor, no doubt being led to her new room. You looked back and saw Valentino leaving.

“Make sure she is cared for. She can be a handful at times… but she is a darling at heart. She is lonely, but very kind. Please do not forget that there is more to her that she shows sometimes,” Valentino told you. There was a sadness in his voice as he said this, and you gave him a confused expression.

“Wait. You are not staying here as well?” you questioned. Valentino sighed and turned to you with a sad expression.

“No. There are some… matters that are related to Vox while I must deal with. And there is also the studio still. I cannot leave it juts like that,” he replied. “Though I wish I could,” he added in a whispered voice. There was such sadness and hurt in his voice when he said that. There was a flash of pain in his eyes too, and it occurred to you that if he could, Valentino would give up that studio in a heartbeat. It was just one more painful reminder of the persona he had to put on. The fact that he could not morn Vox in front of anyone else, as it would be seen as weakness. You were, admittedly, not thrilled that he would not be joining you all at the hotel, but you understood the complicated situation he was in.

“Well, when you are done with your business at the studio and the… stuff related to… to…” you began, but you could not bring yourself to finish the sentence. Valentino understood what was happening and he gave you the most comforting smile he could muster.

“I will hurry right back here once I can,” he promised, and with that, he was on his way.

Weeks passed and you did not hear anything from Valentino. This did not strike you as odd though, as you supposed matters were taking longer to deal with than expected. While you waited for him to return, you began to spend more and more time with Velvet. You learned a lot more about her, and you both helped each other to work through the trauma of losing Vox. It was nice to be able to talk with her and you felt happy for her that she was staying at the hotel. She was making friends quickly and though she was a little hyper and had a short fuse sometimes, she was also sweet and kind to those she liked. One of the people she really seemed to get along with was Charlie.

As the time went on, you saw Charlie and Velvet spending a lot of time together. If Velvet was not with you, you could normally find her talking with Charlie. She would hang out with the princess or help her out around the hotel. Vaggie even seemed to tolerate Velvet being there, though you could see that she was a little exhausted by Velvet’s energy level. It made you feel hopeful because if anyone there besides you could help Velvet work through her trauma, you knew it was Charlie. Even though Vox and Charlie did not get along that much, Charlie was the most understanding person you knew, and she did everything she could to make Velvet feel like part of the odd family that was the residents of the Happy Hotel.

After close to a month, you received a letter from Valentino that was addressed to you, Angel, and Velvet. You called them over to the living room and you opened the letter.

“I apologize. I have not been able to join you all at the hotel yet. The business I had to take care of… it has become more complicated than I would have liked it to be. I have to speak with Lucifer in regards to Vox’s turf. Once I have finished that, I will join you all. Everything has been sorted out in terms of the studio. You should be receiving information related to that shortly, but even if you do not, I shall tell you about it in person later on. But… that is not why I wanted to write to you all. I wanted to write because Vox’s death has made me reflect upon myself and my own life. The choices I have made and the connections I have made as well. It has made me take a moment and reflect.

I was a bad man before. There is no mistaking that, and even though I can hear you all objecting, it is true. I was a horrible, horrible person and there is nothing I can do about that expect tell you all that I am so sorry. And especially to you, Angel. I have hurt you so much beyond compare and I am truly sorry. I have hurt so many people in my life and I can never take any of it back. All I can so is tell you all over and over that I am truly sorry and that I regret all the times I have ever hurt anyone. I am truly, truly sorry. I can only hope that, when I am done all this business, I will be able to try and change my ways. I promise I will try and change. I do not wish to be the man that people fear and hate. I… I know that Vox would want me to do better. To lead a better life. A happier one for myself and those around me. Vox would… Vox would have encouraged me to take a chance. He was always like that. Trying to get me to take chances and do new things. I guess he just never thought that one of those things would be bettering myself. Anyhow… I guess you could say that I am doing this for Vox. In his memory. But I am also doing it for all of you. All of you deserve so much better than how I treated you before. I hope to see you soon, and maybe next time you see me, I will be a little bit of a better person. I sincerely hope that is the case,” read the letter. Angel had a small smile on his face, though you could see the sadness and anger behind it.

“I… I don’t even know what to say to that,” Angel said. Despite his smile, you saw tears in his eyes.

“Angel? Are you alright?” you softly asked him. He let out a small laugh. It sounded nervous, sad, and confused.

“I’ve known Big V for a long time now. But never in my wildest dreams did I think he would want to change or be redeemed. He… he was always so cocky and confident. I guess I just didn’t think he would ever want to leave his life in Hell,” Angel replied. “I mean, he had it all,” continued Angel, only Velvet jumped into the conversation before he could continue.

“He doesn’t have it all. He might have money and power, but in exchange, he gave up love. He gave up happiness and emotions. He gave up being decent. He had to be so cruel and cocky to everyone. Even when no one was looking, he felt he had to because he thought it was the only way to keep his status as an overlord, thus keeping Vox and I safe. Well, safer, I guess. He… he forced people into things, and he was so controlling. I know that, but I also know that he gave up any chance he had at love or emotions…” Velvet started.

“Not quite. He did not give up all love and emotions,” called a cold voice. You all turned to see a figure in the doorway. She had long black hair and crimson eyes. She had sharp looking wings that were a dark violet color.

“Oh my Lucifer,” you heard Velvet whisper.

“H… heya Dark. H… how’s it going?” asked Angel. He sounded considerably afraid.

“So, you really haven’t heard?” Dark snapped.

“Heard?” Velvet asked.

“Val has not returned to the studio. After asking me… ur… Shadow to deliver that letter to the post office, he left to meet Lucifer. He has not been home since,” Dark told you all. You saw hate in her eyes at the mention of Lucifer.

“Wait… how long ago did he send off this letter?” you asked. If he had just sent it, why was Shadow/Dark so upset? Maybe it had been a few days delayed?

“When did you all receive the letter?” Dark questioned.

“Just today,” replied Angel. At this, Dark froze up. She looked both worried and afraid.

“Valentino sent that letter out a week ago,” Dark told you all.

“Val has been missing for a week?!” cried Velvet. Dark nodded.

“Shadow tried everywhere looking to find him. She had been told by him that she was to take care of things while he was gone. After a few days though, she began to get worried and she started asking around if anyone had seen him. She got stressed and overwhelmed. Started panicking. I took over then and continued the search,” Dark explained to you all.

“And you haven’t had any luck finding him?” you questioned. She gave you a look that made you shiver.

“Would I be here doing this if I did?” she yelled at you. You suddenly saw what Vox had told you about her. Dark was _very_ intimidating.

“Darling? I heard some noises. It sounded like shouting. Is everything alright?” you heard Alastor question, opening the door to the room you were all in. You heard a small whimper from behind you and you looked to where Dark was standing. Her black hair was changing back to blonde and her wings were changing to a light purple once again. It was just as Vox had said. Shadow truly was terrified of Alastor. Even Dark was not able to hide this, and you were once again left to wonder why she was so scared of Alastor.

“I… I didn’t realize that you would be here,” Shadow whispered. Alastor chuckled at this. His eyes held that same predatory look that he had given you so long ago.

“Why, of course I would be here! After all, I am the manager here,” replied Alastor. He took a step towards Shadow with a dangerous smirk on his face. “Whatever could have brought you here though, I wonder. Last I heard, Valentino never let his precious little butterfly out of his sight. After all, Hell is a very dangerous place, and Valentino has many enemies who would just love to… hold some leverage over him,” taunted Alastor. Shadow gave a small whimper at this.

“Mr... Mr. Valentino sent me here to deliver a letter. He said it would be safe because it was for such a short time,” lied Shadow. It was not a convincing lie though. Her voice was shaking, and tears were in her eyes. Something that Alastor took notice of quickly, only furthering his amusement.

“Oh really? Is that so? Well, tell Valentino he really should be more careful. It really would be a shame if something were to happen to you,” Alastor said to her. You heard the sick glee in his voice as he told the young demoness that message and you saw Shadow began to tremble even harder.

“Alastor! Enough!” you snapped at him. You then turned to Shadow. “Come on. I will walk you back to the studio,” you offered.

“It is fine! I… I’d rather go alone,” she replied in a shaking voice. Alastor smirked at her and she bowed politely, whimpered softly, and then she took off running.

“Curious little thing, isn’t she?” commented Alastor. You turned to him with a stern expression on your face.

“Alastor! How could you?! You were so cruel to her!” you cried out in horror. Alastor let out a sigh.

“I am sorry, my dear. It is a force of habit, I suppose. Shadow is just so easy to terrorize and it is so much fun to see her tremble like that,” he said, but he sighed once again when he saw the unimpressed look on your face. “I know I am supposed to be kind. I promise I am trying, but this is all so hard. Please try to understand that. I’ve lived with walls around my heart and soul for so long… and letting those defenses and walls go… it is terrifying,” he admitted to you. You let out a small sigh and held his hand softly. You hesitated, realizing that you had made a mistake and forgot to ask before holding his hand.

“Al… first off, is this ok? Or would you rather I let go? Whichever makes you feel more comfortable,” you told him.

“T… this is fine,” he replied. You nodded at this.

“Ok. In that case… I know this whole being good thing is new for you. And I see that you are trying. It means the world to me that you are trying to be better,” you began. “But that… Al… that was scary. I was afraid of you. I never want to feel like that around you. Ok? I cannot be with you if you… if you still take glee out of the fear and pain of others. I know that that was a big part of who you were. I know that it will be hard for you to change, but I need you to promise me that you will not do that again. I don’t mind the odd rude remark to Angel or Husk. Even your dark humor is fine. But scaring Shadow like that… it was beyond cruel,” you scowled. Alastor gave you a sweet smile and he squeezed your hand gently.

“I will not do anything like that. I promise,” he swore to you. You let out a sigh of relief. It was impossible for you to stay mad at him. You loved him far too much for that. You and him both walked to his room and you binged a few shows together. You ended up falling asleep on Alastor, feeling a little bit bad for leaving Angel and Velvet in the other room. You decided that you would talk to them about it in the morning.

Your chat the next morning with Angel was short. You knew that he had mixed feelings about matters concerning Valentino. You had learned that fairly quickly. It complicated things as you were friends with both, but after hearing about the things Valentino put Angel through, you could not judge him for his negative feelings about Valentino. You knew that Valentino had a dark past and though he was trying to change, that did not make up for the things he had done in his past. So, you were not going to push Angel. He was fully entitled to his feelings and you respected his opinions. You smiled after talking with him and left his room after waving goodbye.

You saw Velvet in the room behind the kitchen. She was huddled in her fluffy dress and had clearly been crying. You sat down beside her and offered her a tissue.

“Hey Velvet. Um… did you… is there anything at all I can do to help?” you asked. She took the tissue and looked away.

“Did you know that I was in love with him?” she questioned. You blinked a few times in shook.

“N… no. No, I didn’t know that,” you replied. She gave a laugh at this.

“Of course not. Even if you did know, it is not like you could have changed anything,” she sighed. You looked down.

“I am sorry. Him being in love with someone while you loved him… it must have been hard,” you apologized, though you knew that she was right. You could not have changed Valentino’s feelings even if you had tried. To be fully honest, you did not feel you had any right to do that. Not to him and mostly, not to Shadow. It did shook you a little that she was in love with Valentino, but you supposed that the two were pretty close. You had just always assumed it was more like a sibling relationship than love, but it was not your place to judge either.

“Yeah. It was… it was hard,” she admitted to you.

“But hey, at least you still have a chance to be friends. I know you can be. We are going to find him,” you swore to her. Velvet gave you a hurt and confused look.

“He… he is dead! What part of you doesn’t get that?!” she shouted at you.

“No! Don’t say that! We are going to find Val…” you began, but Velvet cut you off with a look that betrayed her pain.

“You thought I was talking about Val?” she questioned. You slowly nodded, though you were doubting yourself now.

“Well… yes. I did. You said he was in love with someone else. I thought you meant Shadow,” you told her. She let out a disappointed little laugh.

“Of course! I should have guessed! You never even saw it! I thought for a split second you knew, but I guess not! You never even considered the possibility, did you? No! You were too focused on Alastor to realize that maybe someone else loved Vox! Even if you didn’t return his feelings, maybe someone else did!” she snapped. You drew in a sharp breath.

“Oh my gosh. Velvet… I am so sorry. I didn’t know,” you said.

“No, you never did! You never bothered to ask, did you? Do you remember when we were hanging out and I was feeling down? I told you how complex love was and how someone could mean the world to you even if they loved someone else? I was talking about Vox! About you and him! I loved him! I’ve loved him for years, but I never told him. I was going to… but then you came to Hell. When he met you, everything changed. I saw the way he looked at you. He was so happy when he would talk about you. His face just lit up. And I could not tell him after that. How could I? You were… you are my friend and he was too. So, I stayed silent,” she admitted to you. Tears were streaming down her face now.

You were silent. What could you say to that? Velvet was a close friend to you, and she had just lost the love of her afterlife. She never even got to tell him how she felt. She had to live with the pain of feeling like she had lost out on a future she could have had with him. She lost the man she loved and her best friend was missing.

“I just wish he could have known. Known that I loved him. I wish I could have told him my truth. I… I keep imagining how he would have reacted. If there was a chance that he and I could have ended up together. And part of me knows that is impossible because he was hopelessly in love with you… but I still wonder. And it is the wondering that really kills me,” she added.

“I… I can’t even imagine that,” you replied softly. In a way, you could. You remembered the pain of holding back your feelings from Alastor, but it was different because you knew he had had feelings for you. For poor Velvet… all she knew was that he loved someone else.

“Did you… did you have feelings for him? Any?” she questioned. You sighed a little bit at this.

“I don’t know. I cared about him deeply, but I also love Alastor,” you told her honestly. She smiled softly at this.

“Love is a complicated thing, isn’t it?” she said. You nodded.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” you answered.

“I just don’t want to lose Val too. I just lost the man I loved. I can’t lose my bestie,” she told you. You moved and hugged her softly.

“We are going to find him. I swear to you. We will find him,” you swore, and that was what you did. Only… not quite in the way you had hoped.

Two weeks following your conversation with Velvet, Angel came to you and told you that he was going to go to the studio to see if he could find Shadow. He told you that he wanted to check in with her and to make sure she was doing alright. He had not been able to reach her by phone and just wanted to make sure she was, as he put it, “still stable”. You told him to be careful and he promised to return swiftly.

You had been helping Charlie straighten up the place when the door swung open. Angel was standing in the doorway with a look of shock and horror on his face. All his eyes were open and he looked as though he were going to pass out at any moment.

“Angel! Are you ok?!” cried Charlie.

“Val… he is… he is at the studio,” Angel replied. “You need to get there now,” he said, turning to face you. You nodded and Charlie motioned for you to go. A limousine was waiting outside for you. You got in after Angel and the car gunned it to the studio.

“Angel, what is going on?” you questioned. Angel was on his phone, presumably texting Shadow and Velvet.

“I went to the studio. I could not find Shadow, but I heard someone. They were whimpering and they sounded like they were in pain. I went to see…” he began, but he could not finish the sentence. Your mind began to wander and judging by the fear in Angel’s eyes, you began to fear that Valentino had returned to his old ways.

The limousine pulled up to the studio and you got out. You followed Angel into the building and into a room that was dark. You heard Angel take in a deep breath and then he turned on the light.

Strung up on a pole in the middle of the room was Valentino. Blood poured from his mouth, left eye, and from multiple wounds on his body. Some were fresh, but some had clearly been done quite some time ago. His arms were bent in a horrid manner, twisted around the pole. Thin wires held him up there. He was wearing on a short pair of pants and there were multiple crude remarks written on his chest with his own blood. Chains covered his body, loosely wrapped so that it was clear they were not meant to bind him to the pole. No, they were meant as a statement. This whole thing had been meant as a statement against him and his work.

“Stay in the studio,” was also written behind him in blood. You assumed that it was likely also his blood used for the message on the wall. Valentino looked at you and Angel weakly.

“Sorry I was so late to join you at the hotel. As you can see… I got a little tied up,” Valentino managed to call to you. You rushed over to him, struggling to hold back your tears.

“No! Not! Not you too!” you sobbed.

“I am afraid so. Lucifer didn’t want any loose ends, it would seem. Turns out I learned a bit too much. I am paying for that,” he told you. You were about to ask what he meant by that when a cry came from the doorway.

“Val!” shouted Velvet.

“Is he here?” you heard Shadow call out.

“Don’t let her see!” cried Angel. You rushed to the doorway to try and block Shadow from entering.

“Shadow. Please stay here. You should not go in there,” you tried telling her, but she gave you frightened expression that shattered your heart.

“Angel said Valentino was in there. He said Valentino was back. I want to see him!” she demanded. You noted, for some odd reason considering the situation, the fact she was calling him “Valentino” instead of “Mr. Valentino.” Shadow pushed you and Velvet out of the way, and she charged into the room.

The only sound that came from the young butterfly demon was a gasp of utter horror. She froze in place and stood there with the most horrified expression you’d ever seen.

“Shadow, my little love, I am so sorry you had to see me like this. I never wanted you to see me like this,” whispered Valentino. Shadow rushed over to him and flew up, untying him with mild difficulty and carefully helping him down.

“No. Don’t be sorry. We are going to get you all patched up. You are going to be good as new,” she told him. Velvet and you both knelt down beside the couple, and Angel sat down close to you all.

“Darling, it was an angel blade. There is nothing that we can do. I am so sorry,” he informed Shadow.

 _“This is just like with Vox,”_ you thought to yourself, unable to keep the thought from creeping into your mind. You knew the dread and sorrow that Shadow was feeling on a certain level, but you also knew that she and Valentino shared a special connection that had lasted many years. Even decades. The two shared a bond that you could not quite explain, yet you saw its strength in both of their eyes.

“Val. Please. I don’t want to lose you. Please. You were my first true love,” she sobbed out.

“And you were mine. Shadow, you changed my life for the better. You helped me to become a kinder man. Helped me to see that I was more than just a pimp. More than just a demon. You saw the part of me that I thought was long dead. You brought that part of me into the light, so thank you so much for that,” he whispered. She sobbed hard and curled up on his chest.

“Please don’t go,” she whimpered. He gently ran his hand through her hair, holding her close.

“I will stay as long as I can, sweetheart,” he promised. He then turned to Angel. “Angel, I am so deeply sorry for everything that I put you through. I was so cruel to you and you deserved so much better than how I treated you. Nothing I can ever say will take back the things I did, but please know that from the bottom of my heart I regret every single time I hurt you. You deserved so much more love and kindness. I wish I could have given you a better life here. I will regret that for the rest of my time,” he apologized. Angel bit his lip, turning away. You knew he was unsure what to say, yet he forced a smile that you knew was for Shadow’s sake.

“Save your strength, boss,” was all he said. He then turned to you. “I can’t be here right now. I need some air,” he told you. You nodded and watched as he left the room. Valentino gave a small sigh and then he smiled at Velvet.

“You were the closest thing I ever had to a little sister, and you were the best friend I could have ever wished for. I have loved ever moment we spent together…” Valentino began, but Velvet cut him off.

“Cut the shit, Val. Who did this? If you can’t save you, I’m at least going to know the person who took my bestie away from me!” growled Velvet. Valentino sighed.

“Vel… it was Lucifer. You cannot move against him. You know that, right?” Valentino told her. Velvet stood up.

“Oh yeah? Watch me!” she snapped and with that, she left the room. Only you, Valentino, and Shadow remained now. You were torn. You wanted to go after Velvet and stop her, but you also did not want Shadow to be alone. You then had an idea and you turned to Valentino and Shadow.

“I am so sorry, but I will be right back,” you told them. You raced out of the room and you pulled out your hellphone. You called Alastor and waited for his answer with a burning sense of urgency.

“Hello? Darling, are you alright? Charlie informed me that you and Angel suddenly left the hotel. She said it seemed rather urgent,” he said to you.

“Alastor! You need to go to the palace right now! Velvet is on her way there and she is going to try and kill Lucifer!” you shouted.

“Kill? Is this about what happened to Vox?” Alastor questioned.

“No. Valentino is… Lucifer attacked him with the angel blade,” you told him. There was a moment of silence.

“Right then. I will go and stop her,” he replied, hanging up the phone. You put your phone away and went back to Shadow and Valentino.

Shadow was curled up on Valentino’s lap, her wings wrapped around herself like a blanket. She was hugging him tightly and sobbing hard. Valentino was softly running his upper set of hands through her hair while his other two arms held her close to him.

“Do you remember that time we went out on the town? You were so scared, and you clung to me the whole time,” Valentino said to Shadow. She nodded.

“Until you took me to get gelato. You and I both got the same flavor because I asked you to order for me and you didn’t know what else to get. I dropped some of mine on the floor and I was really upset. So, you gave me the rest of yours to cheer me up,” she told him. He laughed weakly.

“I remember that. It was a mix of blackberry and strawberry gelato. I always get that one, so I just ordered two of them. I remember that you really enjoyed it, which was good. You looked so sad when yours fell though. You were close to crying, so I had to give you mine to try and cheer you up. It worked too. Your face lit up so brightly and you were the cutest thing I’d ever seen. You _are_ the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I am truly a very lucky man to have gotten to spend so much time with you. To have gotten to love such an adorable, kind, and beautiful young woman,” he whispered. Shadow blushed at this.

“Val…” she began, but Valentino cut her off swiftly.

“Shadow, you were the bright light that lit up my dark world. You were the apple of my eye. The most vibrant rose in a garden of thorns. You helped me to see that it was possible for me to change. You never lost hope in me, and I will love you forever for that. You showed me a side of myself I thought had died so very long ago and not only that, but you brought it back,” he told her.

“I never gave up on you because I always knew there was something worth fighting for. Sure, it was a hard battle at times, but those are the ones you have to fight the most. I will never give up on you, Val,” she replied to him. He took a firm hold on her hand.

“I am afraid I do not have much time,” Valentino said. His voice was weak, and he looked tired. Shadow snuggled close to him.

“I am scared,” cried Shadow. Valentino kissed her gently.

“I know, darling. I know. But you are going to be fine,” he promised. Shadow’s eyes widened and you knew she had an idea.

“Your eye’s whispered “have we met?” Cross the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me. The playful conversation starts. Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy. And it was enchanting to meet you,” sang Shadow. Valentino smiled softly at this.

“All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you,” he sang back.

“This night is sparkling. Don’t you let it go. I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home,” sang the two in the most heartbreaking duet you’d ever heard.

“I’ll spend forever so glad you knew I was enchanted to meet you,” Valentino told Shadow through song.

“Please don’t be in love with someone else,” Shadow sang.

“Please don’t have somebody waiting on you,” Valentino added.

“Val…” Shadow tried to say, but Valentino merely kissed her and continued on.

“Please don’t be in love with someone else. Please don’t have somebody waiting on you,” he finished, and with that, his hands softly fell away from Shadow, and the one holding her hand relaxed slowly. “I will always love you, my darling butterfly. Ciao, bella,”

And just like that, you knew he was gone. His eyes shut and his breathing stopped. You could see the life fade from him. It nearly broke you.

What did break you, however, was Shadow. Still clinging to Valentino and clinging to the hope that he might somehow survive. Still holding on because letting go was far too painful for her in that moment.

“I was never in love with someone else. I never had somebody waiting on me. Cause you made all of my dreams come true. And I just wish you knew,” she sang. Her voice was cracking, and she had to take a moment before she continued on. “And I just wish you knew… that Val, I was so in love with you,” she finished.

“Shadow…” you began, but she merely sat there, trying to process what had happened. It was only when Valentino’s hand slipped from her hand fully that the gravity of the situation hit her. When this happened, she snapped.

“AH!” Shadow screamed.

That scream was what broke you. It sounded like the cry of a wailing banshee. It filled the room and you swore that it shook the very foundation of the building itself. You could hear the anguish and agony within that scream. The deep sorrow and despair. She collapsed onto Valentino’s corpse.

“Please Val! Just stay with me! Please! I will make it all ok! I swear! We can fix all of this! You can be redeemed and then you can go to Heaven! We can meet there!” you heard her plead.

“Shadow… he is gone. I am so sorry, but he is gone,” you whispered, remembering how Alastor had had to break the same news to you when Vox died. She violently shook her head at this.

“No. No. No. Please no. He promised that he would stay. He promised me. Val never breaks his promises to me. I know that he did some bad things in his past, but don’t say he is dead. He can change. He can change and go to Heaven. He can’t be gone yet. We have plans, you see. So many plans. He can’t be gone. He said he would never leave me. He is going to wake up soon. You will see,” she sobbed to you. You hugged her tightly.

“I know. I know, but he had to go. He… He knew that you were in good hands and he left knowing that you would be safe with all of us,” you told her. You did your best not to cry, trying to be strong for Shadow.

“I want him to stay. I don’t want him to go away. Why can’t he stay with me?” she cried out.

“I… I don’t know. Fate is cruel like that sometimes,” was all you could say.

“It hurts,” she sobbed.

“I know it hurts, but he would not want you to cry. He would want you to hold onto those happy memories. He would want you to remember the good times,” you replied. She hugged you tightly.

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” she whimpered. You gave her a small sad smile.

“I know, but you have to,” you told her gently. She drew in a deep breath and sat beside Valentino corpse. She took a little while to admit to herself that he was gone. You knew that, deep down, she’d known since the moment she had let out that scream, but now she was trying to convince herself entirely that he was gone, and you knew the hurt that would cause her.

“You were a complicated man. I don’t pretend to not know that. But deep down, you wanted to be good. Deep down, there was a light in you. I will cherish the happy memories that we shared. I love you and will always love you,” she whispered to him. She kissed his forehead gently and hugged him one last time. “I was truly enchanted to meet you, Valentino,” she added. She then stood up and looked at you. “We need to find Velvet. She could get herself into trouble if she tries to fight Lucifer,” Shadow reminded you. You nodded and the two of you walked outside. Angel was standing there, and he gave Shadow a hug.

“I… I am sorry for your loss,” he told her. She nodded and smiled softly.

“Thank you,” she said. She sighed and then looked serious. “Right now, I want to find the person that did this. Dark wants to have a little chat with them,” growled Shadow.

“It was Lucifer,” you commented, supposing that she must not have heard it when Valentino told Velvet. She shook her head at this, proving you wrong.

“I don’t mean him. He must have had back-up. Someone else. I know it,” she replied.

“Valentino did mention that he had found out some information and that Lucifer attacked him for it,” you told her. She nodded at this.

“Valentino had a number of enemies. Rival overlords. Princes and princesses of Hell. Even Lilith had some… encounters with him that were less than friendly,” Shadow informed you. “We should get going. Try to make it to the palace while Alastor and Velvet are there. At the very least, we can act as backup for them,” Shadow added. You nodded at this, hoping and praying both of them were alright.

“Sounds like a plan,” you said, and Angel nodded in agreement. You all got inside the limo that was parked outside.

Once you arrived at the palace, you followed Angel and Shadow in. Just being there brought back horrible memories and you struggled to keep it together. No one was there to greet you this time, which made you wonder if Lilith truly was involved in this whole scheme? You continued to follow Angel into the palace when you heard a voice.

“You won’t get away with this!” yelled Velvet from one of the rooms. The three of you shared a look and then you all rushed to the room where you could hear her yelling from. The door was opened so you all burst through into the room. You gasped at the sight in front of you and your world began to spin.

Velvet was chained to the wall. Her face was bloody, and her dress was covered in blood as well. Lucifer was sat there on his throne and he smirked at you, Angel, and Shadow. But none of that was what caused you to feel sick to your stomach.

No. What caused your heart to pound in your chest and caused you to feel as though you would pass out at any given moment was the fact that Alastor was standing over Velvet holding his microphone like a bat. It was covered in blood. You knew that it was Velvet’s blood right away. You could not even try to lie to yourself about that.

“A… Al. What is happening?!” you managed to cry out in horror. Alastor turned to you with a shocked and remorseful look on his face.

“He said he would kill you if I didn’t do it,” Alastor told you.

“Had no other choice,” his microphone chimed in. You felt relief wash over you… until Lucifer spoke.

“You can cut the act. We have no need for it any longer,” called Lucifer. You froze in horror when Alastor’s face shifted. His shock and pain twisted to glee and he laughed.

“Oh! Wonderful! Though it was rather fun while it lasted, I must say the game was getting old,” Alastor chuckled. mi

“W… what is happening here?” you stammered out.

“Shall I explain?” Alastor asked Lucifer. Lucifer nodded.

“Yes. I believe that would be best,” Lucifer replied. Alastor nodded and he pulled out the angel blade from his tailcoat. In a swift motion, he slit Velvet’s throat. You, Shadow, and Angel all screamed in horror as Velvet bled out, gurgling on her own blood until she died. Alastor wiped the blade on his jacket and he chuckled to himself.

“I suppose that you must all be shocked, so let me explain. See, after your first death, Lucifer realized he could use the angel blade to his advantage. He asked me to help with a little… pet project he had. He wanted to bring down the triple V gang. Originally, he only wanted me to use the blade to kill them, but I wanted more of a show than that. So, I suggested that we make a little game out of it all. I convinced Lucifer to help bring you back. See, it was obvious that Vox loved you. I saw his screen light up the first time he saw you back when you offered your own life for his. I knew that if you came back and bonded with him, it would be easy to destroy him. I also knew that he would risk his life to save you, sending Velvet and Valentino down their own downward spirals,” Alastor explained.

“But Lucifer said he was trying to kill you!” you shot back.

“A lie, of course. To get you to trust me. You and the triple V gang. We figured we could have you as our inside person. Feeding us all the information we would need and destroying the V gang from within without even knowing it,” Lucifer replied. You felt anger bubble up in you and you forced it down.

“You told me you were in love with me!” you snapped at Alastor. You were crying now and your breathing was unsteady. Alastor began to laugh.

“Oh my poor dear! That was the best part of it all! Yes, I did love you before, but those feelings died when you died before! Still, you gave me the perfect entertainment when you told me you had feelings for me. I was shocked of course, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. It was so amusing. Not only did you let me so close to you, but you were breaking Vox little by little with how much you cared for me. With the fact that you believed I could be redeemed. I heard your little chats with him. Heard you fight with him and defend me to the man you loved. You chose his worst enemy over him. Over the man who showed you so much devotion and kindness. Oh, the raw pain he must have felt! Delightful!” he laughed.

You had no words. You could not move. You could not speak. He… he had played you. Tricked you and used you. He never loved you. Never cared. You were so foolish and believed that he could change. Could be good. You gave him a second chance and he stabbed you in the back.

“You should have seen the look on Valentino’s face when he learned that I was working with Lucifer. The shock and pain that was on his face! The humiliation in those eyes as I forced him onto that pole and tortured him! Did you know that he used to work at the studio? It is true. He was not always the boss of it. No. Turns out he was quite the hot shot in his day for those who liked that sort of thing. Didn’t seem like he cared much for it though, interestingly enough. Nearly sobbed when I told him to put on the outfit you lot found him in,” Alastor said. Shadow let out a heartbreaking little sob and you hugged her tightly.

“I am going to sneak out. I have to warn Charlie and the others,” whispered Angel, and he moved behind you to slowly make his way out of the palace to back to the hotel. Alastor seemed to take no notice of this, for he was continuing on.

“Valentino didn’t even fight back! That was the best part! I had told him that if he tried, I would kill everyone he loved starting with his little butterfly, and he gave in so quickly after that little threat!” gloated Alastor.

“Y… you are a monster!” you shouted in horror. He laughed at this.

“Yes, that is probably true,” he replied.

“How did you do it?” Shadow asked in a shaking voice. She moved slightly away from you and then moved behind you.

“If you are talking about how I got away with torturing him all that time, it was simple. I would sneak out of the hotel on and off to torture him and have my fun, and then I would return. It was shockingly easy, though I will admit that I used my powers to get me between the studio and the hotel. It might have been cheating a little, but it gave me more time to create my masterpiece,” he replied. You were about to respond to this when a wicked laughter filled the room.

“That was very stupid, Radio Demon,” you heard a voice say. You turned around and blinked in shock.

Standing there laughing hysterically was Dark. She was fully in form now and she had hate burning in those crimson eyes. She hovered above the ground, her wings fluttering behind her.

“H… how?” whispered Alastor.

“How? Because of your ego! Honestly! I didn’t think you would be this dim! For the great Radio Demon, you are quite flawed! You really thought admitting to the murder of Valentino in front of the woman he loved was a good idea! Even though you had to know that I would be there, watching behind her eyelid and waiting for the moment she finally snapped. And she has snapped! Oh, I’ve never felt Shadow’s anger burn like this before! This is quite the thrill! Her anger is finally overtaking her fear, and I am free! So, Alastor. Let’s play a little game!” exclaimed Dark with a wicked laugh. Alastor chuckled at this, seeming quite thrilled.

“Well, this should be fun!” he announced and with that, he snapped and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“Watch out!” you called to Dark…

Then you felt the pain of the angel blade stabbing into you.

You coughed up blood and fell hard to the floor. Alastor tugged the blade harshly out of your back and you screamed in pain as you felt it tearing at the flesh inside of you, carving its path out of your back. You tried after that to scream or cry out in pain, but there was too much blood dripping from your mouth for any sound to come out besides a low gurgle. Alastor leaned down to you.

“This all seems so familiar, don’t you think? I suppose history really does repeat itself. Doomed to, it would seem. I do hope though that you can understand why I have done this. All of this. It is just in my nature. It really was nothing personal. If we were in another life… then maybe we could have,” began Alastor.

And then Dark bit him in the throat. Her attack was brutal. You dared to think that it was more animalistic than anything Alastor had ever done. Sure, his attacks were horrible and sadistic but this… this was different. Her wings stabbed into his shoulders and tore the flesh off of them in large chunks. Blood covers the tips of her wings as she stabbed into his shoulders over and over again, ripping the layers of flesh into ribbons. Her long and knife-like nails clawed their way into his eye sockets. You could make out the squishing sounds of her tearing into his eyes with brute force and nothing else. No weapons or anything. She didn’t need them. Her razor-sharp teeth lodged themselves into his neck and he struggled to get her off of him. Her snarls were somehow still audible and they sounded very feral. There was something chaotically beautiful about her attack though, and you could not help but admire her. She was risking not only her life, but Shadow’s life too. All in order to try and get revenge for those Alastor had hurt.

“ _Go Dark,_ ” you thought to yourself.

You thought of those at the hotel. Angel was likely already back and explaining to them what had happened. They would surely arrive to see you dead, and likely Shadow as well assuming Dark was not able to take down Alastor first. You knew it would break their hearts, but at least they would be safe. At least they knew the truth. Despite the pain it would cause them, you knew that was the safer and better option.

Your breathing became uneven and you shut your eyes. A small smile crept onto your face. Despite the fact your love had betrayed you, you felt happiness. You had made so many amazing friends here. Sure, it was not the afterlife you had expected, but it was a very eventful one. As you lied there dying, you ran through the memories of your time in Hell. Shopping with Velvet and Shadow. Talks and laughing with Vox. Rambling about stuff to Valentino. Helping out Charlie and Vaggie in the hotel. Having heart to hearts with Angel. Making plans about the hotel with Niffty or binge drinking with Husk late at night when Charlie had gone to bed. You had so many memories that you held close to your heart. These were memories you knew would stay with you for the rest of your life. No matter what happened to you. No matter what came next or if nothing came next. You would hold these memories forever.

An odd question came into your mind as you laid there. It was what Velvet had asked. About whether you had feelings for Vox or not. As you dwelled on the question, you began to realize that maybe, just maybe, you did. You thought about the feeling in your heart when the two of you would speak. You thought about how happy his smile had made you and how excited you always were to meet up or chat. Maybe you did love him after all. Maybe you just hadn’t realized it before. Maybe you had just thought there was no way you could ever find a happiness like that. Maybe you didn’t want to risk the friendship. The lines between friendship and love blurred and you wondered if maybe you had chalked your feeling for him up to just friendship. You were still unsure, but you smiled a little more at the possibility of it all.

 _“Vox. I wish I could have told you that. I wish I had known at that time that maybe I did feel the same. Maybe I could have been someone that you loved. Maybe not. But I just wish I could have had the time with you to figure it all out. I wish we could have had a chance to figure things out. Maybe if there is some other world… maybe we can. Maybe we can be friends again, or even something more if that is what fate has in store,”_ you thought. You chuckled a little to yourself. _“I think that would be nice, don’t you? Yeah. I think I will hold onto that for a little while longer. Maybe you can hold onto it to, and we can both use that to find our way back to each other. Like a string tied to both of us. Wouldn’t that be something?”_ you wondered.

You felt sleep beginning to take over and you did not fight it. You knew there was no use fighting it, and you did not have the strength to fight it anyhow. You merely shut your eyes and let a familiar darkness take you. This time though, you knew there was no returning for you. And you have made your peace with that. You said your goodbyes and let the last breath leave you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A bright light caused you to squint your eyes. It was nearly blinding, and you grumbled a little at this. You winced and tried your best to use your hands to block out the light…

Wait… light?!

Your eyes shot open quickly and you looked around frantically. You were in the middle of a city you did not recognize from either Earth or Hell. You were also in the middle of a busy sidewalk, though no one seemed to be annoyed or irritated at you for just lying there. Instead, they were coming to see if you were alright. A young woman rushed over and offered you a hand that you took with caution. She helped you to your feet and smiled at you. She had short black hair and brown eyes that held a pure kindness in them.

“My goodness! You seem quite shaken up, dear. Are you alright?” the woman asked you. You hesitated before nodding.

“I… I think so. I feel ok, but I am a little confused,” you told her. She gave a sweet little chuckle at this.

“I see. You must be new here then,” she replied.

“I… I died,” you whispered. She gave you a sympathetic expression.

“I know. I am sorry about that. I truly am. But the good news is that you won’t ever have to worry about dying again. Not here,” she promised you. You gave her a confused look and raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t understand. I should be gone,” you insisted.

“Dear… let me explain. See, you were a demon and you were in Hell. When you died… well, it seems someone thought you deserved another chance, so they sent you up here,” she said. Your eyes widened in surprise and you gasped.

“Wait… is this Heaven?!” you cried out. She laughed and nodded.

“Yes. That is right!” she exclaimed. You began crying out of joy and shock and you hugged her.

“Thank you!” you shouted. She hugged you back with a smile.

“You are welcome, but there is no need to thank me at all. Really. It was not me,” she told you. A realization hit you and you blushed.

“Oh! I never got your name!” you said. “Sorry. That was rude of me,” you added in a softer tone.

“It is no bother really. This has been a lot of excitement for you. My name is Helen. You come find me if you need anything, ok?” Helen asked. A young man walked up to her and he smiled to her. He had messy blonde hair and was wearing a shirt with a mash of bright colors on it in the pattern of spirals.

“You ready to go?” he asked. He waved to you and you gave a little wave back. Helen nodded to the man with the messy blonde hair and she left with him after waving you goodbye. You realized that you had not found out how to contact her if you did need help, but you figured you could find out somehow later on.

You began to explore the city, taking in the views and experiences it offered. You noticed that most of the beings, despite being angels, looked very much human. There were some that were distinct, but they were part of special units. Regular angels seemed to resemble their appearances from their human lives. Even you looked like you had before Hell. You were taken in this new realization when you bumped into someone.

“Sorry! I should have been paying more attention…” you began, but when you looked at the figure, your breath caught, and you felt tears brimming your eyelids.

Standing in front of you were five figures. They had all been walking together and chatting, but they had stopped speaking when they saw you as well. All stared at you with a look of shock, except for one of them who looked at you with confusion in her eyes.

On the right of the group were two young woman who looked to definitely be siblings. One looked to be a little older though, as she was taller and looked more mature in her facial features. The younger one wore a plain yellow sun dress that complimented her bright green eyes and flowing red hair. Her sister wore a pink, white, and black dress with hearts on the bottom. It was frilly and puffy too.

On the left was a man carrying a young woman bridal style in his arms. She was dressed in a blue, black, and white dress that seemed awfully business-like, yet it suited the young woman perfectly. She had flowing blonde hair and vibrant, icy blue eyes that stared at you. She was still holding onto the tall man carrying her, but her attention was turned to you.

The man holding the young woman was dressed in a black and white stripped suit and had a long pink cloak on. He also had a hat on that was dark red but had white and black stripes along the rim. He had bright green eyes and brown hair. He had a gentle hold on the woman in his arms and was cradling her softly. Like her though, his attention was on you.

But none of that was what brought tears to your eyes.

No. The one that made you begin to sob violently was the dapper fellow who you had bumped into. He was dressed in a blue pinstriped suit and had a little red bowtie on. He had dark blue eyes and wore a black top hat. Most noticeably though was the symbol that had been painted onto the hat.

It was the Wi-Fi symbol.

“T… this is not possible…” the man whispered.

“V… Vox?” you asked. Hope filled you and you prayed to everything he would say yes.

“Yes. I mean, I am called Varian here because we go by our human names, but yeah. I am Vox. You can call me that if you want to. I don’t mind,” he managed to say through tears and sobs. You rushed up and hugged him.

“I thought I had lost you forever!” you cried to him. He held you tight.

“I know, but I am here. I am right here. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he said with a laugh. You laughed too, wiping away your tears and drawing in a few breaths to calm yourself down.

“Hey! No love for us?!” whined the woman in the pink, white, and black dress.

“Velvet?” you questioned. She puffed up her cheeks.

“Obviously! Who else is this fashionable and cute?” she giggled. “Oh. It is Vivian technically, but I like both names,” she added. She then pointed to the girl in the yellow dress. “This is my little sis. I found her just like I wanted to!” Velvet introduced before giving her little sister a big hug. Her sister smiled awkwardly, and you could not help but laugh.

“We did help with that though,” the tall man added.

“Valentino?” you guessed. He nodded and bowed his head a little.

“Veras, but in Hell I was Valentino. Though… I would prefer if you called me Veras if possible. I… I would rather forget who I was as Valentino,” he admitted to you. He then gave a kiss to the young woman in his arms. “This little precious darling here is, as you probably guessed, my little butterfly Shadow. She kept the same name when we came here,” he told you. You then noticed that the two of them had matching rings on their fourth fingers and you raised an eyebrow at this.

“Something you care to share?” you asked them. Shadow and Veras both shared an excited look.

“I was hoping you would notice! Veras and I got married a little while ago!” Shadow exclaimed. It was the happiest you had ever seen her, and her eyes lit up with pure joy when she spoke.

“Guys! That is awesome!” you told them.

“Not only that, but we are expecting two new members to our crazy little family as well,” he said, placing his hands on Shadow’s stomach.

“Wait! You are…” you began, and Shadow nodded.

“Yes. I am expecting. Twins,” She confirmed. You rushed over and hugged both of them.

“That is incredible!” you said. You then paused for a moment. “Not to be all negative… but how is any of this possible?” you asked.

“I died six months ago during the fight against Alastor. My dying wish was that Veras, Velvet, Vox, and you would all go to Heaven and have a second chance. I prayed and told God that I did not care what happened to me, as long as you were all happy. I woke up, and I was here. I found out later that my wish had been granted. Because I used my dying wish to help others, I got redeemed too,” she explained.

“Six months…” you whispered. “I just woke up…” you told them. Vox blushed.

“Yeah… sorry. It took a little bit to find an angel that could bring you into Heaven. Turns out once her wish was granted, it actually requires a little more work. You died a little while after Shadow, but in Heaven time… that is more like weeks,” Vox explained. “I finally managed to find one that could do it though, and it seems they made well on their word,” Vox told you.

“So, the wish brought all of you here?” you asked. Vox shook his head.

“No. I was already here. Turns out sacrificing yourself for the person you love is pretty redemption worthy,” he replied. You could not help but smile at this. You then thought of something and laughed.

“So… seems like I need a place to stay again,” you told them. Everyone chuckled at this.

“You can live with us. We are in a little townhouse and there is a vacancy,” Veras offered. Your smile widened.

“I would love that,” you told him.

“I will lead you there,” Vox said. You nodded and followed him to your new home.

As you walked, you saw angels chatting and laughing. Looking happy and peaceful. You thought of your friends back in Hell. You knew that, when their times came to be redeemed, you would be there to greet them with open arms.

As Vox held the door to your part of the townhouse complex open, you smiled, and you thanked him. You saw him blush and you giggled at this. Sure, things had not gone well with Alastor, but here you had a chance at a new life. Maybe you would try new things you had never gotten to. Maybe you would re-invent yourself. Maybe you would even start a new love story? Who knew?

You turned around to see Velvet and her sister racing to your home, giggling and smiling. You saw Veras and Shadow walking after them. He was still carrying her, and he kissed her on the forehead. She snuggled into his coat and smiled softly in bliss. Finally, you saw Vox. Standing in the doorway and smiling at you. You welcomed them all into the house and as you shut the door, a thought came to your mind. You might have been ending one story, but there were so many more just beginning for you. You and all the wonderful people in your life. Yes, there were plenty more stories to come...

And the hope that that idea filled you with was far better than revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who read this series. The ending chapter was very emotional for me. Not only was I ending a series, but I was also ending a journey I had been a part of for six months of my life. 
> 
> I will post a chapter with a little more of a thank you note soon, as well as a reader challenge and information about a Q and A live stream. 
> 
> Thank you all again. This story would not be what it is today without your support and kindness. Without all of your interest in the tale I wrote and the characters within that tale. Thank you so much. 
> 
> Sincerely, 
> 
> The Author 
> 
> P.S: In total, for anyone interested, this series is 85 pages long. I never ever in my wildest dreams thought it would run so long, but I was shocked when I saw the page amount today.


	4. Thank you message, Livestream Annoucement, and Reader Challenge

Dear Readers, 

I want to start off by saying thank you. Thank you all for all of the support and kindness you have shown me. 

I started this story as a joke thing. My friend requested a "flesh roll-up" story and I made it a Hazbin Hotel fanfiction. After that though... I got so many requests to continue it and so much support for this story. It become a story, and then there was a sequel story. Before I knew it, the series was 85 pages long and I had become emotionally invested in the story. 

I will admit that writing the last chapter was pretty hard. For me, this story has been a part of my life for six months and I've spent so many nights working on it, days typing it out, and I have actually cried a few times (Vox's death and Valentino's death were harder to write than I would have thought). I've gotten to share my interpretations of the characters through this story and I grew alongside the main character. When you work on a story for that long, you begin to feel like you are part of it, I suppose. I spent so long in that world, and I think that really helped me when it came to writing the last chapter. 

Another thing that helped during the writing process was all of you. All the support you all showed me. All the comments and messages. I was always so happy when someone commented because it was so nice to see what you all thought of the story. Your serious comments and your more silly/joking ones. The shock when there was a plot twist and the conflict in some (mostly over whether the reader should end up with Alastor or Vox). Those comments really made my day, and the interest in this story really helped motivate me because I knew that people were enjoying my work. 

As a way to thank you all and to further connect with you all, I will be hosting a livestream on my Tik Tok. It will be a Q and A about this series and about my new story, Curses, which follows the backstories of the V gang members (It will be posted soon, I promise). It will also be a chance for you to ask a few of the characters any questions you have, as my friend and I will be in cosplay and will be acting as some of the characters. 

Leading up to the livestream though, I will be hosting reader challenges. There is one on one of my Hazbin Hotel roleplay things, and I am here to announce the one for this story today:

The title of this story and the chapter titles all have something in common. The first person to correctly guess the commonality will get to request a Hazbin Hotel one-shot. They will also get a shoutout on the livestream and I will leave a link to their preferred social media account on one of the chapters of "Curses". There will be one winner from AO3, and one from Wattpad. 

Good luck everyone! I look forward to seeing you all at the stream!

Sincerely, 

The Author


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